The common loon design was adopted for the dollar in 1987 after the planned shipment of 2.5 million dollar coin blanks bearing the Voyageur design was lost in transit — never recovered — forcing an abrupt switch to Robert-Ralph Carmichael's loon design already in reserve. The "Loonie" nickname caught on almost immediately and the coin achieved rapid public acceptance after the paper dollar note was withdrawn from circulation the same year.
By 1997 the bronze-plated nickel composition had been in use for a decade with no significant reformulation. KM#291 sees no major variety attributions for this date.
The common loon design was adopted for the dollar in 1987 after the planned shipment of 2.5 million dollar coin blanks bearing the Voyageur design was lost in transit — never recovered — forcing an abrupt switch to Robert-Ralph Carmichael's loon design already in reserve. The "Loonie" nickname caught on almost immediately and the coin achieved rapid public acceptance after the paper dollar note was withdrawn from circulation the same year.
By 1997 the bronze-plated nickel composition had been in use for a decade with no significant reformulation. KM#291 sees no major variety attributions for this date.