★Eleven-sided Loonie lineage

Loon Dollar (Loonie)

Loon Dollar (Loonie) covers 1987–present within the one dollar denomination. Identify the common loon on water; commemorative reverses in selected years reverse before applying the overlapping official technical standards or annual production rows.

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Scope is limited to the verified type or program level. Issue mintages, prices, varieties, and survival estimates are not inferred from this summary.

◆1Design generations

◆37Annual rows

◆4Technical standards

◆3Cited sources

Major one dollar types

Know the boundary before the date

The coin has a gold-coloured appearance and an eleven-sided outline. Standard pieces show a common loon on water; authorized commemorative reverses also exist. Date, portrait, security mark, weight, and reverse design separate the principal generations without relying on colour alone.

• Primary identifiers — Reverse: Common loon on water; commemorative reverses in selected years. Obverse: Reigning monarch portrait.
• Authority and dates — Canada; recorded range 1987–present.
• Evidence boundary — Unknown specifications remain unknown; unverified varieties, mintages, and prices stay outside the public catalog.

The historical scope of Loon Dollar (Loonie)

The planned Voyageur tooling did not become the production reverse, and a loon design was selected instead. In 2012 the denomination moved from bronze-plated nickel to multi-ply brass-plated steel, became lighter, and gained a laser-marked maple-leaf security feature.

The catalog places this record in the Small circulation dollar branch, records its material scope as bronze-plated nickel through 2011; multi-ply brass-plated steel from 2012, and records its finish as circulation. Those fields are supported by the sources listed below; missing issue-level transitions are not filled by inference.

1. 1987 · Loonie introduced — The compact eleven-sided coin replaced the one-dollar note.
2. 1992 · Canada 125 — Rita Swanson's children-and-flag reverse replaced the loon for the anniversary.
3. 2005 · Terry Fox — A special circulation Loonie commemorated the Marathon of Hope.
4. 2012 · Plated steel and laser mark — A lighter multi-ply plated-steel standard added a security mark.
5. 2024 · Published table endpoint — The official annual table currently runs through 2024.

Design and identification

The coin has a gold-coloured appearance and an eleven-sided outline. Standard pieces show a common loon on water; authorized commemorative reverses also exist. Date, portrait, security mark, weight, and reverse design separate the principal generations without relying on colour alone.

• Loon Dollar (Loonie) · 1987–present · Robert-Ralph Carmichael — Common loon on water; commemorative reverses in selected years. Eleven-sided Loonie lineage.

Finish by checking the edge (eleven-sided outline), composition (bronze-plated nickel through 2011; multi-ply brass-plated steel from 2012), and any recorded dimensions or weight; colour or wear alone is not enough for attribution.

Official annual production

This page filters the published 1987–2024 annual rows to the Loon Dollar (Loonie) type boundary. Special reverses or parallel issues can be included in denomination-level annual totals; an unsplit total is not represented as design-only production.

Displayed-row sum: 1,545,233,441 · 37 official annual rows

Three anchors that do not depend on price

• Loonie introduced — The compact eleven-sided coin replaced the one-dollar note.
• Canada 125 — Rita Swanson's children-and-flag reverse replaced the loon for the anniversary.
• Terry Fox — A special circulation Loonie commemorated the Marathon of Hope.
• Plated steel and laser mark — A lighter multi-ply plated-steel standard added a security mark.
• Published table endpoint — The official annual table currently runs through 2024.

Specifications within this type

1987 · 11-sided

Composition

91.5% nickel, 8.5% bronze plating

Weight

7 g

Diameter

26.72 mm

Thickness

1.95 mm

1988 – 2002 · 11-sided

Composition

91.5% nickel, 8.5% bronze plating

Weight

7 g

Diameter

26.5 mm

Thickness

1.75 mm

2003 – 2012 · 11-sided

Composition

91.5% nickel, 8.5% bronze plating

Weight

7 g

Diameter

26.5 mm

Thickness

1.95 mm

2012 – present · 11-sided

Composition

multi-ply brass plated steel

Weight

6.27 g

Diameter

26.5 mm

Thickness

1.95 mm

Official annual production catalog

This page filters the published 1987–2024 annual rows to the Loon Dollar (Loonie) type boundary. Special reverses or parallel issues can be included in denomination-level annual totals; an unsplit total is not represented as design-only production.

Collecting paths and checklist

The Loonie is a modern circulation series, not bullion despite its colour. Organize it by the pre-2012 and 2012-onward technical generations, then place commemorative reverses within their documented programs. Unverified die varieties and prices remain outside this type overview.

• One-coin type study — Choose one representative that clearly shows the principal obverse and reverse, then learn the type boundary.
• Design and technical generations — Add a generation only when sources confirm a change in composition, shape, size, edge, or principal design.
• Source-backed date study — Expand into dates or varieties only after issue identity, specifications, and production evidence are verified field by field.

Collector checklist

• Do not clean the coin; cleaning changes surfaces and can obscure evidence.
• Compare date, portrait, design, edge, weight, diameter, and metal response together.
• Have consequential or high-value attributions reviewed by an appropriate specialist or certification service.
• Catalog information is research context, not an appraisal, offer, or investment guarantee.

Data scope

This page publishes reviewed denomination- and major-type-level evidence. Years not published by the Mint remain unknown, zero appears only when the source reports zero, and prices or survivor estimates are not inferred from production.

Sources

1. 1 dollarRoyal Canadian Mint

   Large-dollar and Loonie design and technical chronology.

2. A Tale of Two Designs: How Canada's 1-dollar Coin Became the LoonieRoyal Canadian Mint

   The 1935 silver dollar, planned Voyageur dies, and the 1987 Loonie transition.

3. Faces of the MonarchRoyal Canadian Mint

   Canadian coin obverse portrait chronology through Charles III.