Canadian money
Discussion
It was called a loonie as the Canadian public thought it was a stupid idea hense the slang name loonie. The twoonie followed suit as it was the logical choice of name. I was over there as it was introduced. You felt rich with a wad of dollar bills and just felt stupid with pockets bulging with coins.
>> Edited by wolf1 on Sunday 20th February 21:17
>> Edited by wolf1 on Sunday 20th February 21:17
wolf1 said:Same, I remember after moving to canada, the first thing my dad gave me was a wad of dollar bills, it was a cool feeling
It was called a loonie as the Canadian public thought it was a stupid idea hense the slang name loonie. The twoonie followed suit as it was the logical choice of name. I was over there as it was introduced. You felt rich with a wad of dollar bills and just felt stupid with pockets bulging with coins.
>> Edited by wolf1 on Sunday 20th February 21:17
Thanks for the replies everyone, girlfriends on the phone but when she gets off Its wager winning time... a weeks worth of dirty dishes was the bet From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Loonie is the unofficial but commonly-used name for Canada's gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin. It bears an image of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the reverse and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The name was a tongue-in-cheek reference not only to the bird but also to the unpopular or 'looney' changeover from a paper dollar to a coin in 1987.
The design for the coin was meant to be a voyageur theme, similar to the country's previous one dollar/silver dollar coin, but the dies were lost in transit to the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg. In order to avoid counterfeiting problems a different design was used [1] (www.snopes.com/business/money/loonie.asp). The coin was released to the public on 30 June 1987.
It was unpopular until the government withdrew the one-dollar note from circulation. The switch occurred when Brian Mulroney (which rhymes with 'loonie') was Prime Minister; hence the coin was in its early years sometimes called 'Mulroney's loonie,' but this term has largely died out.
The coin has become the symbol of its currency (newspapers will often discuss the rate at which the 'loonie' is trading against the 'greenback'), and as such, Loonie (huard in French) is a slang term for the Canadian dollar in general.
On occasion the coin has shown other images, for instance the War Memorial to commemorate VE day; it is still, however, referred to as a loonie.
The coin is made of bronze-electroplated nickel. The total composition of the coin is 91.5% nickel and 8.5% bronze; The bronze is about 88% copper and 12% tin.
In 2005 the loonie gained an American neighbor when Minnesota's state quarter featured a loon, the official state bird. Like the Canadian dollar, Minnesota's loon also faces right with its head raised.
Dave
Loonie is the unofficial but commonly-used name for Canada's gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin. It bears an image of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the reverse and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse. The name was a tongue-in-cheek reference not only to the bird but also to the unpopular or 'looney' changeover from a paper dollar to a coin in 1987.
The design for the coin was meant to be a voyageur theme, similar to the country's previous one dollar/silver dollar coin, but the dies were lost in transit to the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg. In order to avoid counterfeiting problems a different design was used [1] (www.snopes.com/business/money/loonie.asp). The coin was released to the public on 30 June 1987.
It was unpopular until the government withdrew the one-dollar note from circulation. The switch occurred when Brian Mulroney (which rhymes with 'loonie') was Prime Minister; hence the coin was in its early years sometimes called 'Mulroney's loonie,' but this term has largely died out.
The coin has become the symbol of its currency (newspapers will often discuss the rate at which the 'loonie' is trading against the 'greenback'), and as such, Loonie (huard in French) is a slang term for the Canadian dollar in general.
On occasion the coin has shown other images, for instance the War Memorial to commemorate VE day; it is still, however, referred to as a loonie.
The coin is made of bronze-electroplated nickel. The total composition of the coin is 91.5% nickel and 8.5% bronze; The bronze is about 88% copper and 12% tin.
In 2005 the loonie gained an American neighbor when Minnesota's state quarter featured a loon, the official state bird. Like the Canadian dollar, Minnesota's loon also faces right with its head raised.
Dave
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