1997 – 2 Dollars Toonie Canada

The 1997 Canadian 2-dollar coin, popularly known as the “Toonie,” is a bi-metallic coin featuring an outer ring composed of 100% nickel and an inner core made of 92% copper, 6% aluminum, and 2% nickel, weighing 7.3 grams and measuring 28 mm in diameter. Its reverse side displays an iconic adult polar bear on an ice floe, designed by Brent Townsend, while the obverse bears the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II, created by Dora de Pedery-Hunt, with the inscriptions “ELIZABETH II D. G. REGINA” and a maple leaf. The coin was introduced in 1996 to replace the 2-dollar bill and has an interrupted edge as well as a patented locking mechanism joining the two metal parts, making it both durable and visually distinctive. In 1997, 16,942,000 of these coins were minted for circulation, maintaining their status as the highest denomination in Canadian coinage.