Canada 2-DOLLARS (KM584)¶
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Reverse: POLAR BEAR
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Obverse: Queen Elizabeth II
- Composition
- Bi-Metallic
- Country
- Canada
- Approx. Size
- 28mm
- Area
- North America
- Animal Class
- Mammals
- Species
- Polar Bear
- KM#
- 584
Canada's 2-dollar coin first appeared in 1996. Unlike the introduction of the 1-dollar coin, nobody seemed to mind that the 2-dollar bill was going away. Canadians immediately nicknamed it the "twoonie," proving that a wholly meaningful name is not an absolute necessity.
In 2006, Canada issued this coin to celebrate 10 years of itself. Although this particular issue was only found in proof sets, I am including it in the zoo anyway, because a lot of these sets were torn open by the kids who received them, and spent at the local store.
On this coin, it seems to me the polar bear is looking at the warming earth (it's supposed to be the northern lights) and wondering how long it can survive with no arctic sea ice.
Canada¶
- Area
- North America
Canada is almost ten million square kilometers of rocks, trees, and water whose borders stretch to three oceans. France arrived in 1534, established the first permanent colony in Nova Scotia in 1604, and pursued their master plan for more than a century before conflict with the British started. Britain won a decisive battle in Quebec in 1759 that unfortunately some Canadians still think is being fought to this day. Canada started to thrive in the early ninteenth century, and successfully repelled a hostile take-over bid by the United States in the war of 1812. In 1837 armed rebellions in both Upper and Lower Canada erupted. This resulted in the union of the two colonies as the Province of Canada in 1840. In 1867 Canada achieved dominion in a unique way: no fighting (except verbal fighting, of course). Today, most Canadians are very concerned with getting along and helping the rest of the world, but often have trouble getting along with themselves.
A Canadian magazine once held a contest to find the Canadian version of the simile "as American as apple pie." The winning entry was "as Canadian as possible, under the circumstances."
