Quazen > Recreation > Collecting

10 Historic Facts About Canadian Coins

by Chris Hamilton, Jun 12, 2008

I don't care who you are, young or old, rich or poor it doesn't really matter because we all have some interest in money. I decided to research my countries currency and found it dated back as far as the 16 th century and has literally changed 100 times over the past decades. So I have gathered what I thought to be 10 of the most entertaining facts about Canadian coins and how our money differs from other countries.

16 th Century Canadian Currency

No big surprise that before actual coins and banknotes where used for currency, furs of animals and belts made of shells, known as “Wampum” was used basically as currency. This was not only the method in Canada but at that time, it was the same pretty much all over the world.
First Canadian Coinage

I'm not exactly sure if this is actually one of the first coins issued in Canada, but the first Canadian coinage was authorized and executed in 1858.
Newfoundland's Own Coin

Sometime in 1865, Newfoundland decided to release its very own coinage. They executed and released the 1 cent, 5 cent, 10 cent, 20 cent and $2 coin. All these coins are considered highly collectable by coin enthusiasts.
1935 Canadian Silver Dollar

This coin was issued by The Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the silver Jubilee of his Majesty King George V. This is another popular coin for collectors.
200 th Anniversary Nickel

This Canadian nickel was released in 1951 to commemorate the 200 th anniversary of the nickel discovery. At the time of the release of this coin Canada was supplying 90% of the world's nickel supply.
$1,000,000 Canadian Gold Coin

In 2007, The Royal Canadian Mint released this monster sized solid gold coin meant to be a novelty item to help boost sales of another set of gold coins they released earlier that year. The coin has a face value of a million dollars but the weight of gold contained within the coin is worth 2 million. Believe it or not these coins can be special order, if you can afford it!
Release of the Loonie

In 1987 the new Canadian coin known as the “Loonie” was released as a cost cutting measure to save paper. There are no longer $1 dollar bills in circulation.
O Canada Coin

To me this is one of the more special coins that were released here in Canada. It's mainly known as the “O Canada” coin, which is solid gold and had a face value of $100. This unique coin is one of a kind because it was released in 1981 to commemorate the adoption of the national anthem “O Canada” on July 1 st 1980.
1st Colored Circulated Coin

Now when Canada released this coin it was meant to be the world's first circulated colored coin. It featured the poppy as a symbol of remembrance for the soldiers that gave their lives in the war. While researching the history of the coins I have written about, I discovered this particular coin was the centre of attention of the US government awhile back. Basically the US government had crazy ideas that the coin contained some kind of tracking or video unit used to capture secrets.
Toonie

Now I couldn't end my article without the introduction to our $2 coin. This piece was released in 1996 also in an effort to help save paper but also because coins proved to last 20 years longer then banknotes.