You Can Get Canada's New Loonie That Has Red, Blue & Green Hues By Trading In Your Old Coins

There is a colourful new coin in Canada with red, blue and green hues that's now in circulation across the country.

But if you don't want to wait for the loonie to show up in your change, the Royal Canadian Mint is hosting exchanges for the $1 coin.

All you have to do is trade in your old coins or bills to get the new Canadian loonie!

It was announced that the Royal Canadian Mint will be offering people a chance to collect the new $1 circulation coin honouring Elsie MacGill, known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes."

The new loonie, with its colourful splashes of red, blue, green and brown, will be available through a Royal Canadian Mint coin exchange happening at two boutique locations in Canada.

Coin exchanges are cash-only transactions and any Canadian money that's a circulation coin or banknote is acceptable.

So, you can trade in dimes, nickels, quarters, loonies or toonies that you have in your wallet and haven't used yet — or probably won't ever use — to get the new coin.

The Mint recently told Narcity that coin swaps are equivalent value exchanges which means any combination of coins or bank notes adding up to $1 are allowed to be exchanged for this new loonie.

At the Royal Canadian Mint boutique in Ottawa, which is located at 320 Sussex Drive, you can participate in the coin exchange for the colourful loonie.

This new Canadian coin will be available for trading between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at that location from August 25 to August 27, 2023.

Another coin exchange is happening at the Royal Canadian Mint boutique in Winnipeg which is located at 520 Lagimodière Boulevard.

You can trade in your coins or bank notes from August 25 to August 27, 2023, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to get the loonie.

There is no admission to get into the coin exchange or fee to participate in the event and there will be a limit on the number of coins each person can exchange, while supplies last.

The new $1 coin features MacGill holding rolled-up blueprints as the Maple Leaf Trainer II is flying above her.

Beside her is the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane she helped produce for the Allies in World War II.

That plane is coloured with green and brown hues representing military camo along with blue and red accents.

The coin's design includes an Engineer's Iron Ring to commemorate her being the first woman elected to the Engineering Institute of Canada.

Also, there is a lapel pin on her suit jacket to symbolize her work as a women's rights advocate, the Mint shared.

MacGill is credited as the first woman in Canada to graduate with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, which she received in 1927, and the first woman in Canada to become a practicing engineer, which she achieved in 1938.

MacGill was the first North American woman to design an aircraft produced under her direction: the Maple Leaf Trainer II.

She also played a key role in retooling the Canadian Car and Foundry factory for the production of Hawker Hurricanes after accepting a position as the chief engineer.

The Canadian-made Hawker Hurricane fighter planes she helped create were used by the Allied forces during WWII and earned her the nickname "Queen of the Hurricanes."

Two million of the new $1 coins will be colourful and feature the green, brown, blue and red hues on the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane.

Another one million of the new loonies commemorating MacGill from the Royal Canadian Mint will be completely gold-coloured as usual.

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