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Summary

Canada's New Coin Is Splashed With Orange & Here's When You Can Get The Toonie (PHOTO)

This new $2 coin also has hints of blue!

​Canadian coins.

Canadian coins.

Senior Writer

Canada is getting a new coin and this toonie has splashes of orange and blue hues!

It was announced by the Royal Canadian Mint on October 3, 2023, that a special $2 coin is coming into circulation so you could find the toonie in your change soon.

The new coin is in honour of Jean Paul Riopelle, one of the most influential artists of the mid-20th century both in Canada and around the world, and marks the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Not only is the toonie colourful — with orange, blue, brown and white hues — but it is also a piece of art.

The artwork appearing on the reverse of the new $2 coin honouring Riopelle features a glimpse of his acrylic and spray paint piece from 1992: L'Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg.

It was painted as a tribute to his lifelong partner Joan Mitchell after her death in 1992, the Royal Canadian Mint shared.

This fresco was created at Riopelle's studio on an island in the Saint Lawrence River near Quebec City and it features bird-like silhouettes, two of which appear on the reverse of the new coin.

Also, the new $2 coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has the original colours of Riopelle's artwork.

This new Canadian circulation coin honouring Riopelle's immense contribution to Canada's cultural heritage goes into circulation as of October 3, 2023.

It has a limited mintage of three million coins and two million of those will be coloured versions featuring orange, blue, brown and white hues.

One million of the new toonies will be classic $2 coins with a silver outer ring and a gold centre that still includes a replica of Riopelle's artwork.

You could get the new coin in your change soon as bank branches and businesses replenish their inventories of $2 coins.

Recently, the Royal Mint has introduced quite a few coins into circulation across Canada that are so colourful.

That includes a loonie with red, blue, green and brown hues to honour the "Queen of the Hurricanes" and a green toonie to commemorate National Indigenous Peoples Day.

You could also find a toonie that's almost all back to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, a red and white toonie and a purple loonie honouring Oscar Peterson in your change!

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

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    • Senior Writer

      Lisa Belmonte (she/her) is a Senior Writer with Narcity Media. After graduating with a Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), she joined the Narcity team. Lisa covers news and notices from across the country from a Canada-wide perspective. Her early coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic earned Narcity its first-ever national journalism award nomination.

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