Coins and Canada - Security Features on 2012 Coins

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Security Features on 2012 Coins

By thecanadiannumismatist | Thursday, 12 December 2024

The Royal Canadian Mint announced a new generation of 1-dollar and 2-dollar circulation coins, which incorporate advanced security features and are manufactured with the Mint's patented multi-ply plated steel technology begins circulating on April 10, 2012.

More cost-effective than their predecessors and unprecedented in their security, these new coins retain the Common Loon and Polar Bear designs and physical appearance familiar to millions of Canadian consumers and businesses. Existing 1-dollar and 2-dollar coins remained legal tender and continue to circulate alongside this generation of circulation coins.

The new 1-dollar and 2-dollar coins are manufactured at the Mint's facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba using the same patented multi-ply plated steel (MPPS) technology from which Canada's lower denomination circulation coins have been made since 2001.

This technology, by which a steel core is plated with alternating layers of different metals such as copper, nickel and brass, employs far less metals than alloy coins and produces highly cost-effective circulation coins.

As an industry leader and innovator focused on delivering the best quality and value to its customers, the Mint is pleased to have produced a new generation of 1-dollar and 2-dollar circulation coins which set new standards in cost-effectiveness, durability and security.
By combining the Mint's patented multi-ply plated steel technology and sophisticated security features never before seen on Canadian coinage, our new high-denomination circulation coins reinforce the modern and innovative reputation of Canada's currency system.

- Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint

The Mint's ability to control the plating thickness of each metal layer also provides greater flexibility in controlling electromagnetic signatures.

This makes the security of MPPS coins superior to non-plated alloy coins of the same dimensions. The Mint's Winnipeg facility has been producing MPPS circulation coins for a list of international customers.

This generation of 1-dollar and 2-dollar circulation coins also incorporated new, visible security features which further enhance the security and integrity of Canada's coinage system.

The reverse (or tails side) of both coins features a laser mark micro-engraving, and the 2-dollar coin also contains a virtual image and edge-lettering. With the exception of these additional security features, the new coins have the same diameter and thickness as the current coins.

These changes to the 1-dollar and 2-dollar circulation coins, which support the effort to modernize Canada's currency system, are permanent. The coins starting circulating across Canada in 2012.

Canada's multi-ply plated steel $1 and $2 circulation coins won the inaugural Best New Coin Innovation Excellence in Currency Awards presented by the International Association of Currency Affairs (IACA). The award was presented at IACA's Coin Conference in Berlin, Germany on October 29, 2013.

1 dollar 2012 prices and values

2 dollars 2012 prices and values