New coins for Canada’s 150th birthday

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New coins will be making their way into Canadian wallets in the new year. The Royal Canadian Mint revealed it’s newest coins today, that will commemorate Canada’s upcoming 150th birthday and one of the coins was created by an artist from St. Catharines.

It was a happy day for Wesley Klassen and his family. His design was selected out of thousands to be marked on Canada’s 150th anniversary Loonie. Klassen included the CN tower, Lion’s Gate bridge and an east coast lighthouse in his design. The coin entitled “Connecting a Nation” was inspired by his family vacations.

The anniversary coins were unveiled in five cities across the country. The twoonie features the northern lights, desgined by an artist in British Columbia. The quarter designed by a Richmond Hill artist, is named Hope for a Green Future. Designed in Calgary, the dime blends images of a maple leaf with a dove. And the nickle, entitled Living Traditions, designed by a Millbrook First Nation artist in Nova Scotia

The quantities printed depends on the coins value; ranging from 12 million quarters and just a couple million of the twoonies. Klassen’s design will be marked on 10 million coins across the country. While printing of the coins starts as early as the first week of December, you won’t be finding them in your change until the new year. The collection starts circulating in the spring of next year, but they could be around for decades.

“The average coin life is 30-years, but often coins like this one get scooped up by collectors so we typically say around 18-months.”

The last time all coins changed for an anniversary was 50 years ago for the country’s centennial. Those coins were designed by the late Canadian painter Alex Colville.