What Is a Niagara Falls Trade Dollar Made of?

Niagara Falls Trade Dollars are made from nickel or nickel-bonded steel.

Niagara Falls trade dollars are issued by the City of Niagara Falls located in Ontario, Canada. Niagara Falls trade dollars are a souvenir currency to be kept as a collector's item or spent within the city limits

History

The first Niagara Falls trade dollar, released in 1977, was made from nickel. This trade dollar featured the City of Niagara Falls crest on one side and a picture of the falls with a boat on the other side of the coin.

Composition

From 1977 to 1980 the Niagara Falls trade dollar was made from nickel. In 1981, the city began producing the coin using nickel-bonded steel in order to reduce manufacturing costs.

Types

In 1979 the city started issuing two versions of the Niagara Falls trade dollar each year. The images on the coin remained the same for each version of the coin but the second coin was gold-plated. The city issued a gold-plated version to increase the coin's popularity with coin collectors.

References

• "The Standard Catalogue of Canadian Municipal Trade Tokens, Volume 4-Ontario, 2nd Edition"; Serge Pelletier; 2005
• Ziggy's Trade Tokens: Canadian Municipal Trade Tokens (Ontario)