Toonie

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Toonie (sometimes spelled twonie) is the unofficial name for Canada's two-dollar coin; it is a portmanteau word combining the number "two" with the name of the loonie, Canada's one-dollar coin. Spelling is far from standardized, and twonie is still sometimes used.

In Canadian French it is sometimes known as a polar, to rhyme with huard, for loonie.

Introduced on February 19, 1996, the toonie is a bi-metallic coin which bears an image of a polar bear, by Campbellford, Ontario artist Brent Townsend, on the reverse. The obverse, like all other Canadian coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. It is the only coin in Canada to have the "ELIZABETH II / D.G. REGINA" in a different font.

When the coin was introduced a number of nicknames were suggested. Runners up included the bearly, the deuce and the doubloonie (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon coin). A joke refers to the coin as "The Queen with the Bear Behind", and thus the moonie. Another joke poked fun at the then-poor Canadian dollar to American dollar exchange rate by suggesting that the coin be called "the American silver dollar". Finally, the toonie has been referred to as the Bouchard (after Quebec separatist leader Lucien Bouchard), due to a few reports of the inside disc of the coin separating from the outside in early coins.

Another angle to the name pairs the word "toonie" up with the "loonie" (one dollar coin) to complete the reference to "loonie toonie" or the famous and popular Looney Tunes cartoons; an indirect jibe at Canadian politicians who introduced the coins replacing the paper currency equivalents.

Many toonies in the first shipment of the coins were defective, and could separate if struck hard or frozen, as the centre piece would shrink more than the outside. This problem was quickly corrected, and the initial wave of so-called toonie popping blew over a few months after the coin's introduction. Under any circumstances, such a "separated coin" may still be redeemed at a bank for its face value. However Canada's Currency Act explicitly prohibits the deliberate "break up" of "any coin"[link].

Despite the name being unofficial, the Government of Canada uses toonie in its [Newcomer's Guide], and it seems likely to remain a standard term.

Special edition reverse includes:

1999: Commemorating the founding of Nunavut, featuring an Inuit drummer
2000: Millennium 2 dollar, featuring a polar bear with her cubs and has the word "KNOWLEDGE" in English and "LE SAVOIR" in French. The coin value "2 DOLLARS" appears on the obverse instead of on the reverse.

Toonie

See also