2011 Parks Canada Loonie
The 2011 Parks Canada Loonie is a circulating loonie with 5 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2011
- Circulation mintage
- 5,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Nolin BBDO Montreal
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 2011 Parks Canada Loonie worth?
5 million were made, so the 2011 Parks Canada 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 2011 Parks Canada Loonie rare?
- No. 5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2011 Parks Canada Loonie coins were made?
- 5,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2011 Parks Canada Loonie?
- The design is credited to Nolin BBDO Montreal.
- What is the 2011 Parks Canada 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 2011 Parks Canada Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2011 Parks Canada Loonie was made
In 1911 Canada created the Dominion Parks Branch, the first national parks service in the world. The country already had parks before that, starting with Banff in 1885, but the new branch gave them a dedicated agency for the first time. Today that agency is Parks Canada, responsible for national parks, historic sites and marine conservation areas from coast to coast to coast. Banff, Jasper and many other parks now draw millions of visitors a year.
The Royal Canadian Mint marked the centennial with a loonie in 2011 and released it into circulation. Five million were struck, a moderate mintage for a commemorative loonie. The coin celebrates the whole system rather than a single park, which is why the design tries to fit so much into a small space: animals of the land, air and water, plants, a park building and a hiker. It is a busy design and it rewards a close look with a magnifier. For anyone who has spent a summer in a national park, it is one of the more personal loonies.
How to recognize it
The reverse is credited to Nolin BBDO Montreal. It features stylized land, air and aquatic animals, several kinds of plants and a symbolic park building, with the silhouette of a hiker framed by a snow capped mountain range. The effect is a little like a park map in miniature. That crowded layout is also what identifies it, since no other loonie packs in so many small elements. Look for the hiker and the mountains and check the date 2011. On the obverse is the Queen as portrayed by Susanna Blunt. It works almost like a checklist, so see how many of the animals you can pick out on yours.
2011 Parks Canada Loonie by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2011 Parks Canada Loonie ranks 4th lowest of 19 circulating loonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2014 Lucky Loonie Loonie (4.03 million); the next more common is the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie (5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1992 Confederation 125 Loonie with 23 million, about 4.6 times as many. The scarcest is the 2019 Equality Loonie with 3 million, 1.7 times fewer than this one.
It was the only circulating commemorative loonie dated 2011.
What to check on your 2011 Parks Canada Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Parks Canada reverse dated 2011. 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 5,000,000 made for circulation, the Parks Canada loonie is neither scarce nor among the most common. Circulated pieces are face value coins. The fine detail works against worn examples, because small animals and plants blur quickly, so condition matters more here than on simpler designs. An uncirculated coin with every element distinct can earn a small premium. Use a magnifier on the hiker and the mountain peaks to judge wear. If yours came in a card or holder, it was sold as a collector product.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2011 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,000,000 |
| Composition | Nickel plated with aureate bronze |
| Weight | 7.0 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Nolin BBDO Montreal |
Frequently asked questions
What does the 2011 Parks Canada loonie show?
It shows stylized animals of the land, air and water, plants, a park building and a hiker framed by mountains. It marks the 1911 founding of the Dominion Parks Branch, now Parks Canada.
How many Parks Canada loonies were made?
The Royal Canadian Mint struck 5,000,000 for circulation in 2011. That is a middle of the road figure for a commemorative loonie, so circulated coins are face value. Sharp uncirculated examples can carry a small premium.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.