Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family
Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie)
Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie) covers 1996–present within the two dollars denomination. Identify the polar bear on an ice floe; commemorative reverses in selected years reverse before applying the overlapping official technical standards or annual production rows.
Scope is limited to the verified type or program level. Issue mintages, prices, varieties, and survival estimates are not inferred from this summary.
Major two dollars types
Know the boundary before the date
Begin with the Polar bear on an ice floe; commemorative reverses in selected years reverse, then confirm the Reigning monarch portrait obverse. Compare date, portrait, denomination, interrupted serrations; edge lettering/security generation from 2012 edge, dimensions, weight, and metal response together. Wear, cleaning, plating disturbance, or environmental colour is not, by itself, evidence of a new type or variety.
- Primary identifiers — Reverse: Polar bear on an ice floe; commemorative reverses in selected years. Obverse: Reigning monarch portrait.
- Authority and dates — Canada; recorded range 1996–present.
- Evidence boundary — Unknown specifications remain unknown; unverified varieties, mintages, and prices stay outside the public catalog.
The historical scope of Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie)
The cited evidence records Canada as the issuing authority and 1996–present as this type or program boundary. It belongs to the Two-dollar circulation coin branch and is classified by authority, principal design, and documented physical generations. A narrower subtype should be added only when measurements, composition, or design evidence supports the split.
The catalog places this record in the Two-dollar circulation coin branch, records its material scope as bimetallic nickel/copper-alloy generation through 2011; multi-ply plated generation 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.
- 1996 · Two-dollar coin introduced — The bimetallic coin replaced the two-dollar note.
- 1999 · Nunavut — Germaine Arnaktauyok's design marked the new territory.
- 2000 · Path of Knowledge — Tony Bianco depicted a female polar bear and two cubs.
- 2006 · Tenth anniversary — Two reverse versions marked a decade of the circulation coin.
- 2008 · Quebec City 400 — A six-million special reverse circulated beside the traditional design.
- 2012 · Security redesign — Plated components, edge lettering, laser marks, and a virtual image arrived.
- 2017 · Canada 150 — The annual table reports only the special Canada 150 row.
- 2024 · Published table endpoint — The official annual table currently runs through 2024.
Design and identification
Begin with the Polar bear on an ice floe; commemorative reverses in selected years reverse, then confirm the Reigning monarch portrait obverse. Compare date, portrait, denomination, interrupted serrations; edge lettering/security generation from 2012 edge, dimensions, weight, and metal response together. Wear, cleaning, plating disturbance, or environmental colour is not, by itself, evidence of a new type or variety.
- Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie) · 1996–present · Brent Townsend — Polar bear on an ice floe; commemorative reverses in selected years. Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family.
Finish by checking the edge (interrupted serrations; edge lettering/security generation from 2012), composition (bimetallic nickel/copper-alloy generation through 2011; multi-ply plated generation 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 1996–2024 annual rows to the Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie) 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: 1,077,596,500 · 29 official annual rows
Three anchors that do not depend on price
- Two-dollar coin introduced — The bimetallic coin replaced the two-dollar note.
- Nunavut — Germaine Arnaktauyok's design marked the new territory.
- Path of Knowledge — Tony Bianco depicted a female polar bear and two cubs.
- Tenth anniversary — Two reverse versions marked a decade of the circulation coin.
- Quebec City 400 — A six-million special reverse circulated beside the traditional design.
- Security redesign — Plated components, edge lettering, laser marks, and a virtual image arrived.
- Canada 150 — The annual table reports only the special Canada 150 row.
- Published table endpoint — The official annual table currently runs through 2024.
Specifications within this type
1996 – 2012 · Round, bimetallic
- Composition
- outer ring 99% nickel, inner core 92% copper, 6% aluminum, 2% nickel
- Weight
- 7.3 g
- Diameter
- 28 mm
- Thickness
- 1.8 mm
2012 – present · Round, bimetallic
- Composition
- outer ring – multi-ply nickel plated steel, insert – multi-ply brass plated aluminum bronze
- Weight
- 6.92 g
- Diameter
- 28 mm
- Thickness
- 1.75 mm
Official annual production catalog
This page filters the published 1996–2024 annual rows to the Polar Bear Two Dollars (Toonie) 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.
| Year | Design context | Technical standard | Mintage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 375,483,000 |
| 1997 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 16,942,000 |
| 1998 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 5,309,000 |
| 1999 | Nunavut | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 25,130,000 |
| 2000 | Path of Knowledge | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 29,847,000 |
| 2001 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 11,910,000 |
| 2002 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 27,020,000 |
| 2003 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 11,244,000 |
| 2004 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 12,908,000 |
| 2005 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 38,317,000 |
| 2006 | Polar-bear anniversary versions | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 35,319,000 |
| 2007 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 38,957,000 |
| 2008 | Traditional bear and Quebec City 400 | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 18,400,000 |
| 2009 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 38,430,000 |
| 2010 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 8,220,000 |
| 2011 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g | 27,488,000 |
| 2012 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 7.3 g / 28 mm · 6.92 g | 89,185,000 |
| 2013 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 12,390,000 |
| 2014 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 16,305,000 |
| 2015 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 30,378,500 |
| 2016 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 65,264,000 |
| 2017 | Canada 150 | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 10,000,000 |
| 2018 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 26,730,000 |
| 2019 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 25,995,000 |
| 2020 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 17,235,000 |
| 2021 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 24,875,000 |
| 2022 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 20,580,000 |
| 2023 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 1,045,000 |
| 2024 | Bimetallic polar-bear two-dollar family | 28 mm · 6.92 g | 16,690,000 |
Collecting paths and checklist
A useful first set represents the design and technical boundaries documented across 1996–present; portrait, composition, or program generations can follow when their evidence is secure. Issue mintages, rarity labels, variety names, prices, and survivor estimates require separate verification and are not inferred from this type summary.
- 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
- 2 dollarsRoyal Canadian Mint
The 1996 introduction, polar-bear design, and 2012 security and composition changes.
- Currency ActJustice Laws Website, Government of Canada
The Canadian dollar, cent relationship, current-coin definition, and legal-tender limits.
- Faces of the MonarchRoyal Canadian Mint
Canadian coin obverse portrait chronology through Charles III.