Voyageur dollar

Like all of Canada's discontinued coins, the voyageur dollar coins remain legal tender. The reverse design of the coin features an Indigenous man and a French-Canadian voyageur paddling a canoe, with an island with two trees in the background. Vertical lines in the background represent the Northern Lights, and bundles in the canoe feature the initials H.B, representing the Hudson's Bay Company. This image represents a romanticized version of Canada's early history with the fur trade, and came to be known as the "voyageur" design. The design was made by Canadian Emmanuel Hahn, whose initials appear on the coin (EH at left under canoe).

• Country — Canada • Denomination — Voyageur dollar • Value — 1 • Unit — CAD • Mass — 15.62 • Diameter — 1935-1967 36 mm 1968-1987 32.15 • Thickness — 2.88 • Edge — Milled • Composition — 1935–1967 80% Ag, 20% Cu 1968–1987 99.9% Ni • Years Of Minting — 1935–1987 • Catalog Number — – • Obverse Design — * King George V (MacKennal effigy; 1935-36) • George VI (Paget effigy; 1937-52) • Elizabeth II (Gillick effigy; 1953-63) • Elizabeth II (Machin effigy; 1965-87) • Obverse Designer — *Bertram Mackennal • Humphrey Paget • Mary Gillick • Arnold Machin • Reverse Design — Voyageur and an aboriginal travelling by canoe • Reverse Designer — Emanuel Hahn

On May 4, 1910, the Canadian government passed an amendment to the Currency Act (Bill 195) which, among other things, called for the requirement of a Canadian silver dollar. James Bonar, Deputy Master of the Royal Mint, had ordered the master dies for this new dollar on November 10, 1910. Production of the dies was delayed, and they were not delivered to the Mint until nearly a year later. By the time the dies arrived, Sir Robert Borden had won his Canadian election, and cancelled the production of the silver dollar. While no official reason was given from the Borden government about the cancellation, a letter from Bonar attributes the coin's removal to the absence of a reference to God (Dei gratia rex), which created controversy among Canadians at the time. The obverse dies, featuring the bust of King George V, would still be preserved until 1936, used with the first silver dollars to enter circulation. Three trial strikes of silver dollars were produced in 1911 by the Royal Mint in London: two struck in silver, and one in lead. One of the silver coins, owned by the Royal Mint Museum, has been loaned to the Bank of Canada since 1976, while the lead coin was discovered during a move in 1977. The two were put into the National Currency Collection of the Bank of Canada, and have been on display in the Bank of Canada Museum since 1980.

In 1935, a commemorative silver dollar was struck for the Silver Jubilee of George V (the 25th year of his reign). The obverse featured a portrait of the King with the special Latin motto "Georgius Rex Imperator anno regni XXV" (English: George V, King, Emperor, regnal year 25) around the edge. The reverse features the "Voyageur" design by Emanuel Hahn. This coin was the first Canadian 1-dollar coin issued for circulation, and marked the beginning of silver Canadian dollars in circulation, which continued until 1968 when the coin's composition shifted from silver to nickel.

The issue was generally considered a success, and beginning in 1936, the silver dollar (in.800 fine silver) was struck more-or-less annually as a regular issue for general circulation, with the same reverse design as in 1935. Although commemorative dollars were struck for circulation for the visit of King George VI in 1939, no regular-issue dollars were struck that year, as well as until the end of World War II in 1945. Thereafter, voyageur dollars were struck each year through 1966, except in years when a commemorative dollar was struck for circulation (e.g. 1939, 1949, 1958, 1964). In 1967, a special "flying goose" design was struck for the Canadian Centennial.

Beginning in 1968, following the 1967 Canadian Centennial series, the voyageur dollar design resumed. It was now struck in pure nickel, following the decision to debase Canada's coinage from silver to nickel. The change to this harder metal led to the diameter of the coin being reduced from 36 mm to 32 mm, as it made minting considerably easier. From then on, the series was only interrupted for circulating commemorative issues, except for those produced in 1982 (Constitution Acts dollar) and 1984 (Jacques Cartier dollar), where the voyageur design was also produced. It was last struck for circulation in 1986 and for collectors in 1987.

Neither the silver nor nickel dollars circulated well although the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) saw a need for a circulating dollar coin. Since a one-dollar coin could last 20 years longer than a one-dollar bill, they calculated that they could save up to $250 million in 20 years. To encourage circulation, the size was reduced, the colour was changed, and the one-dollar note was eliminated from circulation. Originally, the plans called for the voyageur design to be continued on the new gold-coloured dollar coin. However, the set of dies depicting the design was lost in transit between the Ottawa mint to the Winnipeg mint. To eliminate the risk of counterfeiting, an alternate design submitted by Robert-Ralph Carmichael in a 1978 coin design contest, featuring a loon, was used. This became known as the loonie.

• Illustration — 1935 Canadian voyageur dollar, commemorating the Silver Jubilee of George V

• Year — Mintage — Notes • 1935 — 428,707 — Designed to commemorate the Silver Jubilee of George V. • 1936 — 339,600 • 1937 — 207,406 • 1938 — 90,304 • 1939 — 1,363,816 — Designed to commemorate King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ottawa. • 1945 — 38,391 • 1946 — 93,055 • 1947 — 65,595 • 1947 ML — 21,135 — Obverse removed. • 1948 — 18,780 • 1949 — 672,218 — Newfoundland joins Confederation. • 1950 — 261,002 — Includes "water line" varieties. • 1951 — 416,395 — Includes "water line" varieties. • 1952 — 406,148 — Includes "water line" varieties.

• Illustration — 1965 Canadian voyageur dollar with Queen Elizabeth II. • Illustration — Reverse side of the Canadian Centennial commemorative coin featuring a Canada goose in flight. • Year — Mintage — Notes • 1953 No strap — 1,074,578 — This variety is also called with/without shoulder fold. • 1953 Strap • 1954 — 246,606 • 1955 — 268,105 — Includes "water line" varieties. • 1956 — 209,092 • 1957 — 496,389 — Includes "water line" varieties. • 1958 — 3,039,630 — 100th anniversary of British Columbia. • 1959 — 1,443,502 • 1960 — 1,420,486 • 1961 — 1,262,231 • 1962 — 1,884,789 • 1963 — 4,179,981 • 1964 — 7,296,832 — 100th anniversary of the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences. • 1965 — 10,768,569 — 2nd obverse portrait • 1966 — 9,912,178 — The "small beads" variety is very rare with only 485 reported. • 1967 — 6,767,496 — Canada's Centennial: The design features a Canada goose in flight. • 1968 — 5,579,714 • 1969 — 4,809,313 • 1970 — 4,140,058 — 100th anniversary of the accession of Manitoba. • 1971 — 4,260,781 — 100th anniversary of the accession of British Columbia. • 1972 — 2,676,041 • 1973 — 3,196,452 — 100th anniversary of the accession of Prince Edward Island. • 1974 — 2,799,363 — 100th anniversary of Winnipeg. • 1975 — 3,256,000 • 1976 — 2,498,204 • 1977 — 1,393,745 • 1978 — 2,948,488 • 1979 — 2,954,842 • 1980 — 3,291,221 • 1981 — 2,778,900 • 1982 — 1,098,500 — Regular "voyageur" issue • 9,709,402 — Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982. • 1983 — 2,267,525 • 1984 — 1,223,486 — Regular "voyageur" issue • 7,009,323 — 450th anniversary of Jacques Cartier arriving on the Gaspé Peninsula. • 1985 — 3,104,092 • 1986 — 3,089,225 • 1987 — Not circulated — "Prooflike" and "Proof" issues only