18 rare Canadian coins you might have in your change that could be worth money someday
You might be able to find rare Canadian coins in your change that could be worth money someday.
That includes light blue toonies, purple loonies, green toonies, and more unique coins.
Each year, the Royal Canadian Mint puts out commemorative circulation coins that have pops of colour, artwork and other special design features.
Also, there are some one-off redesigns of Canadian coins like the Queen Elizabeth toonie and the Bluenose dime.
The Mint told Narcity that these coins are "more exclusive" than classic circulation coins.
Over eight million $2 coins and almost 23 million $1 coins are minted in Canada annually. But commemorative circulation coins usually have a limited mintage of just three million.
"There is a tendency for the public to collect and keep those coins, which removes a significant percentage from circulation," the Mint said.
That's because commemorative circulation coins have unique colour enhancements and artistic designs you won't find on other coins.
Limited mintages and people not using them as legal tender mean the coins are actually pretty rare.
"It can be safe to say that such coins will circulate less over time," the Mint told Narcity.
You might already have the coins in your change without even knowing it.
So, whether you want to keep these coins for yourself or hold onto them in case they're worth money in future, here's what you need to know about some rare Canadian coins from the last few years.
CN Tower toonie
This $2 coin commemorates the 50th anniversary of Toronto's CN Tower in 2026.
It features the CN Tower, the city's skyline from 1976 in black, and the current Toronto skyline in blue and white on the inner core.
The outer ring has an engraving of the 1976 skyline on the left and the 2026 skyline on the right.
The colourized version of the $2 coin glows in the dark when exposed to natural or ultraviolet light. It's the second Canadian circulation coin to feature the Royal Canadian Mint's glow-in-the-dark technology.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, with one million uncoloured versions and two million colourized versions.
Daphne Odjig toonie
This $2 coin from 2025 honours Daphne Odjig, one of Canada's most influential artists.
Odjig's 1977 artwork "The Folk Singer" is on the inner core of the toonie in blue, yellow, orange, brown and white.
The outer ring has an engraved reproduction of her drawing of a fisher, which appears above her signature on her 1978 work "The Indian in Transition."
Not only is this coin unique because it features actual artwork, but also because it's the first Canadian circulation coin to celebrate a woman visual artist.
There is a limited mintage of just three million coins. Two million coins feature the hues of Odjig's artwork, and one million feature the classic gold and silver toonie colouring.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier toonie
This Tomb of the Unknown Soldier toonie from 2025 commemorates the anniversary of the repatriation of the Unknown Soldier.
The inner core features a street-level view of the tomb at the National War Memorial, with the base of the granite tomb extending to the outer ring.
It also has four sentries behind the tomb representing all Canadians who serve or have served.
At the bottom of the inner core, there is a poppy with red and black hues.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, including two million coloured versions.
L. M. Montgomery loonie
This 2024 $1 coin honours L. M. Montgomery, a Canadian writer and the author of Anne of Green Gables.
It features a portrait of Montgomery along with her signature and her drawing of a cat. Across from her, there is a portrait of Anne Shirley, her famous protagonist, gazing out at P.E.I. farmland.
The landscape behind Montgomery has a light blue hue representing the sky and green and orange hues representing the farmland.
There is a limited mintage of three million L. M. Montgomery coins, and two million of those feature the colourful background.
Inuit Nunangat toonie
This $2 circulation coin celebrating Inuit Nunangat from 2024 features artwork from four artists, which is a first for the Mint.
The light blue inner core of the toonie features an image of Nuliajuk, also known as the spirit of the sea, wearing an atigi (parka) alongside a walrus, two beluga whales, a seal, and an arctic char.
It has four artistic interpretations of uluit (knives) engraved on the right side and "Inuit Nunangat" engraved on the left side of the outer ring.
There is a limited mintage of three million Inuit Nunangat coins, including two million with a light blue inner core.
Elsie MacGill loonie
This 2023 $1 coin honours Elsie MacGill, an engineer and advocate for women's rights known as the "Queen of the Hurricanes."
The loonie is mostly gold-coloured with a hint of green and brown hues to represent military camo and red and blue accents to represent the RCAF colours.
It features MacGill with the Engineer's Iron Ring on her hand to commemorate her being the first woman elected to the Engineering Institute of Canada and a lapel pin on her suit jacket to symbolize her work as a women's rights advocate.
The camo coloured plane on the coin is the Hawker Hurricane fighter plane she helped produce for the Allied war effort in WWII.
There is a limited mintage of three million Elsie MacGill coins, with two million colourized versions and one million that have the classic loonie colouring.
Jean Paul Riopelle toonie
This 2023 $2 coin honouring artist Jean-Paul Riopelle is a piece of art.
The inner core of the toonie features part of Riopelle's artwork from 1992: L'Hommage à Rosa Luxemburg.
It also has the original orange, blue, brown and white colours of Riopelle's piece.
There is a limited mintage of three million, including two million colourful versions.
National Indigenous Peoples Day toonie
This $2 coin for National Indigenous Peoples Day in 2023 honours the "rich and diverse cultural heritages" of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people.
It features three unique designs representing First Nations, Inuit and Métis people and communities.
The inner core of the toonie is green instead of gold with splashes of red, orange, white and black, and the outer ring is the classic silver colour.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, and two million of those have the green, red, orange, white and black hues.
Oscar Peterson loonie
This 2022 $1 coin celebrates Oscar Peterson, a world-renowned pianist and composer who was born in Montreal.
The loonie features Peterson playing a piano while musical notes from the closing bars of his song "Hymn to Freedom" float from the instrument.
It has a splash of purple between Peterson and the piano because that was his favourite colour.
There was a limited mintage of three million coins, two million of which feature the purple accent.
Summit Series toonie
This $2 Summit Series coin from 2022 celebrates the 50th anniversary of Team Canada's win over Team USSR.
The inner core of the toonie is red, white and black instead of gold and features two Team Canada hockey players with the team's maple leaf jersey emblem behind them.
The coaches' initials and the jersey numbers of each player from the team are engraved on the outer ring.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, including two million that feature the colourized inner core.
Queen Elizabeth toonie
The Queen Elizabeth II black toonie from 2022 is Canada's first circulation coin to feature a black-nickel-coloured design.
It has the classic elements of a toonie, like the gold inner core that features a polar bear, but the outer ring is black instead of silver.
The design is meant to be a symbol of grief and reminiscent of a mourning armband.
There is a limited mintage of five million of these black and gold coins.
Alexander Graham Bell loonie
The $1 Alexander Graham Bell coin honours the 175th anniversary of his birthday in 2022.
It features a portrait of Bell and two of his inventions, the HD-4 Hydrofoil and the Silver Dart, in front of streaks of blue that represent the sky.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, and two million of those feature the colour enhancement.
Bluenose dime
This dime celebrates the 100th anniversary of Bluenose in 2021 and is Canada's first-ever colourized 10-cent coin.
It features a redesigned image of the famous fishing schooner that's been on the dime since 1937 and a splash of blue underneath the boat to represent the North Atlantic waters Bluenose sailed on.
There is a limited mintage of six million colourful dimes.
Insulin toonie
This $2 coin celebrates the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin in 2021 because it was a Canadian medical breakthrough.
It features the classic silver and gold design of a toonie, but with a splash of blue to highlight the monomer, which is a building block of the insulin molecule.
There is a limited mintage of two million coloured versions and one million uncoloured versions of the coin.
Klondike Gold Rush loonie
This 2021 $1 coin marks the 125th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the Klondike.
It features the people credited with the discovery of gold on Rabbit Creek that started the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896: Keish (Skookum Jim Mason), K̲áa Goox̱ (Dawson Charlie), Shaaw Tláa (Kate Carmack) and George Carmack.
A red colour enhancement represents the Moosehide Gathering place, which is where the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation relocated when it was displaced by gold rushers.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, two million of which have the red colour enhancement.
Bill Reid toonie
This 2020 $2 coin honouring Bill Reid (Iljuwas) features his artwork.
The inner core of the toonie has one of Reid's most iconic pieces of art: Xuu.ajii, the Haida Grizzly Bear.
It's in red, white and black hues, which are the colours of Haida artistic tradition.
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, and two million of those feature the Haida Grizzly Bear in the colours of Reid's artwork.
United Nations loonie
This $1 coin commemorates the 75th anniversary of the creation of the United Nations in 2020.
It features the UN's olive branch wreath in blue and Canada's red maple leaf, along with an engraving of a world map.
The loonie is Canada's first-ever colourful $1 coin.
There is a limited mintage of two million of the blue and red coins and one million of the uncoloured versions.
WWII Victory toonie
This 2020 $2 circulation coin celebrates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II.
It also honours the Canadians who served on the battlefield and at home.
The "V" for Victory symbol on the inner core is purple and includes a flaming red and orange torch. The toonie features a message engraved on the silver outer ring in Morse code: "We win when we work willingly."
There is a limited mintage of three million coins, two million of which feature the purple, red and orange colour enhancement.
Reverse side of 2026 $2 50th Anniversary of the CN Tower Coin.Courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint
Reverse side of 2026 $2 50th Anniversary of the CN Tower Coin with glow-in-the-dark effect.Courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint
Obverse side of 2026 $2 50th Anniversary of the CN Tower Coin with King Charles effigy.Courtesy of the Royal Canadian Mint
Multilayered Bluenose Fine Silver Coin.
Obverse side of Multilayered Bluenose Fine Silver Coin.
Barn Owl $1 coin.
Obverse of Barn Owl $1 coin.
Reverse of Torngat Mountains National Park 1 oz. Fine Silver Coin.
Obverse of Torngat Mountains National Park 1 oz. Fine Silver Coin.