Last Friday, Canada government announced in the official Canada Gazette that Canada's mint will soon unveil one-dollar and two-dollar coins made from brass-plated steel, replacing more expensive nickel cores.The new coins will be slightly lighter, Can$16 million (US$16 million) cheaper to produce and ship, and harder to counterfeit. However, the change will cost coin-operated industries up to $40 million to recalibrate vending machines to recognize the new coinage. The mining sector will also be hit as global nickel demand falls by about 539 metric tonnes per year, or 0.05 percent. The Royal Canadian Mint has produced more than one billion loonies, as the one dollar coins are called, and over 700 billion toonies, the two-dollar coins, since they were introduced in 1987 and 1996, respectively.
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We obviously get the occasional .01-.25 coins down here, but had never seen the loonie/toonies before .. they're actually kinda attractive, but LOL at the nicknames !
get the toonie real cold and the middle can be punched out turned over and put back in... at least that's what i've been told when i ask why some were one way and some the other