2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie
The 2016 Women's Right to Vote 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
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 5,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Laurie McGaw
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 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie worth?
5 million were made, so the 2016 Women's Right to Vote 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 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie rare?
- No. 5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie coins were made?
- 5,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie?
- The design is credited to Laurie McGaw.
- What is the 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie made of?
- Multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.27 g and measures 26.5 mm, with an 11-sided shape.
- Is the 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie was made
Women in Canada first won the right to vote at the provincial level in 1916, when Manitoba passed the change in January. Saskatchewan and Alberta followed later the same year and other provinces and the federal government came after. Quebec was the last province, in 1940. The path was uneven and not everyone gained the vote at the same time, but 1916 is the year usually treated as the start. Nellie McClung, a writer and activist, was one of the best known campaigners in Manitoba. Most Canadian women won the federal vote in 1918, though many Indigenous women and women of some other groups had to wait much longer.
For the centennial the Royal Canadian Mint issued a loonie in 2016 and released it into circulation. Five million were struck, a moderate mintage that put the coin into change across the country. It was one of two loonies that year, alongside the Rio lucky loonie, which had the same mintage. The coin honors the women who campaigned for the vote and the generations who have used it since, a theme the design captures with a scene that links a woman and a girl at the ballot box.
How to recognize it
Laurie McGaw's reverse shows a woman casting a ballot while a girl stands with her, a quiet scene that connects the act of voting to the next generation. It is a softer, more personal design than most commemorative loonies, which tend to feature monuments or logos. To confirm you have it, look for the two figures at the ballot box and the date 2016. Susanna Blunt's Queen Elizabeth II appears on the obverse. Faces are the high points of the design, so check them for flattening. There is no logo or building to guide you, so the human scene itself is the identifier.
2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie ranks 7th lowest of 19 circulating loonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2012 100th Grey Cup Loonie (5 million); the next more common is the 2016 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 shared 2016 with 1 other circulating loonie design: the Lucky Loonie (5 million). The 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2016 Women's Right to Vote Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Women's Right to Vote reverse dated 2016. 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 Women's Right to Vote loonie is a moderate mintage coin. In worn condition it is a face value coin. The faces of the woman and the girl are the first things to wear, so an example with sharp features is better than most. Uncirculated coins with clean fields can earn a small premium. If yours was sold in a card or sealed holder, it came from a collector product. Loose coins with light marks are from circulation, which is where most people will find this one.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,000,000 |
| Composition | Multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.27 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Laurie McGaw |
Other 2016 loonies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 Lucky Loonie Loonie | 5,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What does the 2016 Women's Right to Vote loonie commemorate?
It marks 100 years since women in Manitoba won the provincial vote in January 1916, the first province to do so. Saskatchewan and Alberta followed that same year. Five million were struck for circulation.
Who designed the women's suffrage loonie?
Laurie McGaw designed it. Her reverse shows a woman casting a ballot with a girl beside her, linking the vote to the next generation. The coin was issued for circulation in 2016.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.