2005 Terry Fox Loonie
The 2005 Terry Fox Loonie is a circulating loonie with 12.9 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2005
- Circulation mintage
- 12,909,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Stan Witten
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2005 Terry Fox Loonie worth?
12.9 million were made, so the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie is easy to find. A circulated one is worth face value; collectors pay a little more only for uncirculated coins.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition
- Specimen or proof finish from a Mint set
- Colored versions sold in collector packs
- A genuine mint error
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie rare?
- No. 12.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2005 Terry Fox Loonie coins were made?
- 12,909,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie?
- The design is credited to Stan Witten.
- What is the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie made of?
- Nickel plated with aureate bronze. It weighs 7.0 g and measures 26.5 mm, with an 11-sided shape.
- Is the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie was made
Terry Fox lost his right leg to cancer as a young man. In April 1980 he dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic at St. John's, Newfoundland and set out to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. He called it the Marathon of Hope and ran close to a marathon a day. After 143 days the cancer returned, forcing him to stop near Thunder Bay, Ontario. He died in June 1981 and the Terry Fox Run held each year in his name has kept his cause going ever since.
The 2005 loonie marked 25 years since the Marathon of Hope. It made Fox the first Canadian citizen to be featured on a circulating Canadian coin, a striking honor when every earlier portrait on everyday coins had been of a monarch. The coin was released into circulation in large numbers and the Mint also struck first strike coins of the design, a reminder of how much attention the issue drew. For many Canadians it is the one commemorative loonie they can name without looking.
How to recognize it
Stan Witten's reverse shows Fox in mid stride, running along the road as he did through the summer of 1980. It is a simple, direct image that most people recognize at once and the date 2005 confirms the issue. Turn it over to find Susanna Blunt's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. One detail is worth checking closely. Coins exist without the grass that normally appears on the reverse, so compare the ground near the runner with a standard example. If the area looks bare where you would expect grass, set the coin aside for a closer look under magnification before deciding what you have. Keep the coin away from keys in a pocket if you want to preserve that low detail.
2005 Terry Fox Loonie by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2005 Terry Fox Loonie ranks 17th lowest of 19 circulating loonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2008 Lucky Loonie Loonie (10.9 million); the next more common is the 1994 Remembrance Loonie (15 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1992 Confederation 125 Loonie with 23 million, about 1.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 2019 Equality Loonie with 3 million, 4.3 times fewer than this one.
It was the only circulating commemorative loonie dated 2005.
What to check on your 2005 Terry Fox Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Terry Fox reverse dated 2005. The 11-sided shape and gold color make a loonie easy to tell from other coins.
- Check whether it has added color. Colored versions come from collector packs, not from change. Keep them in their packaging.
- Look for even plating. Worn spots that show a different metal underneath are normal wear, not an error.
- Specimen and proof loonies from Mint sets have mirror or satin finishes that circulation coins never have.
With 12,909,000 struck, the Terry Fox loonie is common and circulated pieces are face value coins. Its popularity means plenty were saved, so uncirculated examples are easy to find as well. The coins without grass draw more interest and a clear one can earn a collector premium over a normal piece. Make sure the missing grass isn't simply heavy wear on a tired coin, which can flatten low detail. The Mint also issued 19,949 first strikes of the design in special packaging and those are distinct from anything found in change.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2005 |
| Circulation mintage | 12,909,000 |
| Composition | Nickel plated with aureate bronze |
| Weight | 7.0 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Stan Witten |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Terry Fox loonie rare?
Not usually. Almost 13 million were made for circulation, so a typical coin is face value. The pieces that show no grass on the reverse attract more attention, provided the grass is genuinely absent rather than worn away.
Why is Terry Fox on a loonie?
The 2005 coin marked 25 years since his Marathon of Hope, the 1980 run across Canada for cancer research. It made him the first Canadian citizen featured on a circulating Canadian coin.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.