2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie
The 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie is a circulating loonie. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- Not published
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Claire Watson
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 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie worth?
the 2023 Elsie MacGill 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 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie rare?
- No. It was made in large numbers, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie coins were made?
- The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure in our source.
- Who designed the 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie?
- The design is credited to Claire Watson.
- What is the 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie made of?
- Multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.27 g and measures 26.5 mm, with an 11-sided shape.
- Is the 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie was made
Elsie MacGill was a pioneer of Canadian engineering. In 1927 she became the first woman in Canada to earn a degree in electrical engineering and she went on to become the first woman in the world to work as an aircraft designer. During the Second World War she supervised production of the Hawker Hurricane fighter at a plant in Fort William, Ontario, earning the nickname Queen of the Hurricanes. Later in life she campaigned for women's rights. Her mother, Helen Gregory MacGill, was a pioneering judge in British Columbia.
The Royal Canadian Mint issued a loonie honoring MacGill in 2023 and released it into circulation. No circulation mintage figure was published. The coin also has an obverse detail that ties it to a turning point. It still carries Queen Elizabeth II, with the dates 1952 to 2022 marking her reign, which ended with her death in September 2022. That makes it part of a group of coins struck after her death that continued to show her portrait, before King Charles III appeared on circulating coins.
How to recognize it
Claire Watson's reverse shows Elsie MacGill with the word Canada at the top and the word dollar at the bottom. A Hawker Hurricane flies in the sky above her and on select coins it appears in color. To confirm the issue, look for MacGill's portrait with the aircraft overhead, then turn the coin over: the Queen's portrait with the dates 1952 to 2022 confirms it. The obverse is the easiest check, since it is unusual to find a memorial date span on a loonie. The Hurricane is a single-engine fighter with a long nose, which helps you recognize it even on a plain coin.
2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie by the numbers
The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure for the 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie in our source, so it cannot be ranked against other loonies yet.
What to check on your 2023 Elsie MacGill Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Elsie MacGill reverse dated 2023. 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.
The Mint did not publish a circulation mintage, so scarcity can't be judged by numbers. A circulated one is a face value coin. Check whether yours has the colored Hurricane, since both colored and plain versions exist and color rubs off with handling. The memorial obverse makes this coin interesting to collectors of the Queen's final coinage, so a sharp uncirculated example can bring a small premium. A coin in its original card or holder came from a collector product.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | Not published |
| Composition | Multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.27 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Claire Watson |
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Elsie MacGill loonie have the Queen on it?
The obverse shows Queen Elizabeth II with the dates 1952 to 2022 to honor her reign, which ended in September 2022. It was struck before King Charles III appeared on circulating coins.
Who was Elsie MacGill?
She was the first woman in Canada to earn an electrical engineering degree and the world's first female aircraft designer. In the Second World War she oversaw Hawker Hurricane production, earning the nickname Queen of the Hurricanes.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.