How Canadian Coins Are Made
Canadian money can be a little confusing to Americans. While many of the coins have the same names as their U.S. counterparts, the one-dollar Canadian coin is in widespread, general use (unlike the $1 U.S. coin), and there is no equivalent to the two-dollar Canadian coin. Canadian coins are made the same way as they are in every other modern, industrialized country around the world.
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Identification
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Canadian coins come in one-cent, five-cent, ten-cent, 25-cent, 50-cent, one-dollar and two-dollar denominations. The coins of less than a dollar in value all have names corresponding to their U.S. equivalents (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and half-dollars). The one-dollar coin is called a "loonie," and the two-dollar coin is called a "toonie."
Function
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The first step in the creating of a new coin is the sculpting of a large plaster model of the new design. This is then cast in rubber, and the rubber cast is used to make a plastic or epoxy galvano. This is then taken to a lathe, which converts the model into a steel master hub (this has a face that looks like the eventual coins will), which in turn is used to make master dies (which has the inverse of the coin face). The master dies are used to make working hubs, which are in turn used to make the working dies. Every step of this process multiplies the number of hubs or dies, so there will be many working dies at the end.
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Features
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In modern coin making, rolls of sheet metal are fed into a cutting press, which stamps out blank slugs. These blanks are called planchets. The planchets and working dies come together when the planchet is struck with the image on the die, minting a new coin.
History
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The Canadian one-dollar banknote was withdrawn from circulation and replaced with the loonie in 1987. The two-dollar banknote was replaced with the toonie in 1996.
Geography
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All Canadian coins are struck at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg. This facility makes coins not just for Canada, but also accepts contracts to make coins for other countries. It is also the source of any of Canada's official, special commemorative coins.
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