Today is the Loonie’s 20th birthday. That’s the kind of thing that makes me realize how strange time is, because the Loonie still seems new to me. Like seatbelts, the metric system and remote controls.
Apparently the Loonie wasn’t supposed to be a Loonie at all. The dollar coin was supposed to have a canoe on it, not a loon, but the master dye disappeared in transit between Ottawa and the Winnipeg Mint, so they had to redesign it.
Unbeknownst to me, the Loonie was not adopted wholeheartedly by Canadians in its early years. People don’t like change, in more ways than one. Not me, I loved it right from the start. I emptied my change into a jar every night and once a year I’d roll it up and buy Canada Savings Bonds for my son’s education. His savings grew massively with the advent of the Loonie, and again nine years later with the Twoonie.
His Loonies were converted to CSBs and then later to mutual funds, where they still sit, waiting for him to go back to school. And they will sit there till the end of time if he doesn’t, because he is brilliant and has tons of potential and I am one stubborn mother.
You do find some interesting stuff!
Yoo bad, it could have been a canoey. That would have been fun too.
Or canoonie. Then what, catoonie? Catoey? Oh for the things that might have been!
Thanks for reminding us of this stuff zoom
I can’t believe it’s 20!
That’s nuts.
I was so tickled last summer when we visited Canada and discovered ‘Loonies’ and ‘Toonies’ – so cool!
Happy Birthday Loonie!…
The Loonie is on the Canadian dollar coin, and a few Loonies here and there can buy a lot of Canadian savings bonds over time…….