10 Historical Facts About Canadian Coins

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 16th 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.

1. 16th 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.

2. First Canadian Coinage
One of the first Canadian coinages was authorized and executed in 1858.

3. 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 collectible by coin enthusiasts.

4. 1935 Canadian Silver Dollar
The 1935 silver dollar 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.

5. 200th Anniversary Nickel
This Canadian nickel was released in 1951 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the nickel discovery. At the time of the release of this coin Canada was supplying 90% of the world's nickel supply.

6. $1,000,000 Canadian Gold Coin
In 2007, The Royal Canadian Mint released a 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!

7. 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.

8. 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 1st 1980.

9. 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 center 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.

10. 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.