2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie
The 2012 Lucky Loonie 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
- 2012
- Circulation mintage
- 5,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Emily Damstra
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 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie worth?
5 million were made, so the 2012 Lucky Loonie 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 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie rare?
- No. 5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie coins were made?
- 5,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie?
- The design is credited to Emily Damstra.
- What is the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie made of?
- Multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.27 g and measures 26.5 mm, with an 11-sided shape.
- Is the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie was made
London hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics and the Royal Canadian Mint issued the fifth lucky loonie for the Games. It was released into circulation like the earlier coins, keeping alive the tradition that began with the loonie buried under the ice at Salt Lake City in 2002. London was hosting the Summer Games for the third time, after 1908 and 1948.
The 2012 coin came during a year of change for the loonie itself. That year the Mint began making loonies from multi-ply plated steel instead of nickel, a switch that lowered the weight of the coin. The lucky loonie also marked a drop in numbers for the series. Only 5,000,000 were struck for circulation, roughly half the totals of the 2006, 2008 and 2010 coins. Every lucky loonie from here on was made in similarly modest numbers, so the later issues are less familiar to people who only check their change now and then. If you are building a run, this is where the coins start to take a little more searching. The new steel loonies are slightly lighter than the nickel ones, though few people notice by hand.
How to recognize it
Emily Damstra designed a common loon with its wings spread, joined by the Olympic rings and a laser-etched maple leaf. The spread wings give the coin more movement than the floating loon of the regular loonie. The laser-etched leaf is a finer detail, so look at it closely under a light. Two years later the Mint reused the same design for Sochi, swapping the rings for the Canadian Olympic team logo, so check the date carefully: 2012 with the rings means London. The other side shows Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt. The feathers on the spread wings are the finest detail on the coin.
2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie ranks 5th lowest of 19 circulating loonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2011 Parks Canada Loonie (5 million); the next more common is the 2012 100th Grey Cup 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.
2012 brought 1 other circulating loonie design: the 100th Grey Cup (5 million). The 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2012 Lucky Loonie Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Lucky Loonie reverse dated 2012. 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.
At 5,000,000 the 2012 lucky loonie is less common than the big runs of 2006 to 2010, but circulated pieces are still face value coins. Condition is what separates one from another. The fine etched leaf and the feather detail wear quickly, so a coin with both crisp is the one to keep and it can bring a small premium. If yours shows added color or came in an Olympic card or sealed holder, it came from a collector product rather than change. Keep it in that packaging.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2012 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,000,000 |
| Composition | Multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.27 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Emily Damstra |
Other 2012 loonies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 100th Grey Cup Loonie | 5,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the 2012 and 2014 lucky loonies?
Both use Emily Damstra's design of a loon with spread wings and a laser-etched maple leaf. The 2012 London coin has the Olympic rings, while the 2014 Sochi coin uses the Canadian Olympic team logo instead.
How many 2012 lucky loonies were made?
The Royal Canadian Mint struck 5,000,000 for circulation. That is about half the figure of the 2006, 2008 and 2010 coins, though worn examples are still face value. It was the fifth coin in the series.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.