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wordnerdette t1_isx2f39 wrote

Wow, TIL. I remember the transition to loonies, and kept a dollar bill in my dictionary (which, um, I assume is still there). I wonder what we would have called the canoe design coins - canooeys? Paddlers? And then what would we call toonies?

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Carbon_Rod t1_isxblzv wrote

They were called voyageur dollars or silver dollars (although they hadn't been silver since 1967) when they were still being produced.

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stefanspicoli t1_isxfw2u wrote

I was cleaning out the garage at my great uncles and I found a tin can full of Canadian and American silver dollars and half-dollars. Super cool find. I really like the design on the voyageur dollars. Half-dollars are cool too, kind of wish they were still in circulation

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Carbon_Rod t1_isxgivg wrote

Up until silver got phased out, silver dollars and fifty cent pieces did circulate to a fair extent. Not entirely sure why the switch to nickel made them circulate less; I know I've never received either as change, even back in the 80s.

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Lord_Silverkey t1_isy4bbz wrote

I've been in some people's homes where they had litterally hundreds of silver coins.

There was a common belief amongst some people at the time that the government decided to switch to nickel because the price of silver was going to skyrocket. In response a lot of people would habitually remove any silver coins from their change and store them at home, hoping to cash in later.

Stemming from that, the Canadian government started minting a massive amount of new quarters to replace the old ones which were being removed by the general populace. You can check out the minting numbers here.

The number of half dollars that they minted at that point also went up, but not anywhere near to the level that quarters were being minted.

When the dust settled after that change, we got hit with a major recession in the 80s. The combined inflation between 1980 and 1987 was ~64%.

Before that date of 1987 half dollars were minted at numbers comparable to the number of full dollar coins. But at that point the government cut production of half dollar coins by -90% per year, and pumped out 500,000,000 million loonies by the end of 1990 only 3 years later. For reference, the total number of 1 dollar coins in circulation in 1985 was something like 100,000,000, so they literally multiplied the total number of Canadian one dollar coins in existence by a factor of 6 in only 3 years.

At that point half dollars unofficially became collectors items rather than legal tender, even if they still could be used as the latter.

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Zenmedic t1_isxphic wrote

The fifty cent piece was expensive to produce, large and not considered to be a core part of Canadian coinage, so to save money, they haven't been minted in circulating quantities in quite some time. Still legal tender and in proof and collector sets, but it was decided that the cost wasn't worth the return for wide circulation.

Some of this actually had to do with the advent of the Vending Machine. Because Canadian and US coinage is so similar and basically interchangeable in the old mechanical machines, up until the loonie, you could make one mechanism that worked for 2 major markets. Big win. Add in parking meters and the likes, and the day to day things that relied on change now don't take a 50c coin, so it also became more obsolete through the way society uses coins.

Fast forward a few decades, and now the mint is penniless....

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SEA_tide t1_isy3229 wrote

I just got a brand new 2022 half dollar at a US casino cashier. I have no idea why they bothered getting rolls of those unless quarters weren't as readily available. Casinos already try not to use dimes, $1 coins, $2 bills, $10 bills, and $50 bills.

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Iamjum t1_isy74n4 wrote

A lot of times they will use half dollars vs 50 cent chips in blackjack.

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Tbkssom t1_isxvxnp wrote

Wait wait wait

“Loonie” isn’t the official name? Oh my god it was just nickname this whole time

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givemethebat1 t1_isy6oml wrote

It’s a nickname, but the Mint holds the copyright to “loonie” as well.

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ClownfishSoup t1_it11iq2 wrote

It became a nickname the very second they released it!

For the longest time I had the first loonie I every received in change. Long spent now I'm sure.

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ramriot t1_isxw1be wrote

Well the toonie would probably be called the Bear Behind

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jlisle t1_isy27lc wrote

It still makes me mad that Canadians in general thought "toonie" was a better slang than "doubloon"

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rncookiemaker t1_isy8o80 wrote

I always thought of it as "two-nie"

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jlisle t1_isyvars wrote

Phonetically the same, but due whatever reason "toonie" was adopted. Really "twonie" makes more sense, since, y'know, it's two dollars, but what are ya gonna do?

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rncookiemaker t1_iszoicu wrote

I get the "loon" and "toon", so there's that. It's neat to learn slang for other cultures/countries.

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[deleted] t1_isyjzfb wrote

[deleted]

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rncookiemaker t1_iszq28m wrote

Thanks!

I have learned that downvotes don't hurt too much. It's like water off a duck's loon's back!

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ClownfishSoup t1_it11aua wrote

Yes, this is why it's funny! Loonie, Twonie. Makes sense.

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ramriot t1_isydwtu wrote

Or how about the Bear Back, best used in conversation.

"Do I owe you a Bear Back?" "That's ok, I'm good right now"

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Guilty-Web7334 t1_isy5rda wrote

I’d heard the suggestion of “doobie” because “double loonie.”

Really, though, I think it’s just because she was a fan of BC Bud long before it was legalized.

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CheeseSandwich t1_italtkc wrote

You seriously think "doubloon" makes for a better moniker than "toonie"?

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jlisle t1_itbm6vk wrote

Yes, and I have since 1995 when everybody was taking about what we going to call the new $2 coin. Ultimately both words are the same concept, "double loonie" vs "two loonies," y'know? I still think toonie sounds dumb, but I still use the word because I try not to be an enormous tool

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Lpreddit t1_isylc7l wrote

I like the longer version - the Queen with the bear behind. Or soon to be King

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