2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie
The 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie is a circulating toonie with 5.13 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2017
- Circulation mintage
- 5,130,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Tony Bianco
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 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie worth?
5.13 million were made, so the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie 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
- Colored versions from collector packs
- Specimen or proof finish from a Mint set
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie rare?
- No. 5.13 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie coins were made?
- 5,130,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie?
- The design is credited to Tony Bianco.
- What is the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie made of?
- Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.92 g and measures 28 mm.
- Is the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every toonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie was made
On April 9, 1917, all four divisions of the Canadian Corps attacked Vimy Ridge in northern France together for the first time. The ridge had resisted earlier Allied attacks, but careful planning, rehearsal and a massive artillery barrage let the Canadians take it over four days of fighting. Nearly 3,600 Canadians were killed and thousands more wounded. The victory became one of the defining moments in the country's history and is often described as a point when Canada began to see itself as a nation in its own right.
After the war France granted Canada the land on the ridge for a memorial. Designed by Walter Allward, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial took years to build and was unveiled by King Edward VIII in 1936. Its walls carry the names of more than 11,000 Canadians who died in France and have no known grave. For the 100th anniversary of the battle in 2017, the Royal Canadian Mint issued this toonie, released in the same year as the Canada 150 coins. That made it one of two commemorative toonies dated 2017, alongside the glow-in-the-dark Dance of the Spirits.
How to recognize it
Tony Bianco's reverse centers on the Vimy Memorial, with its two tall white pylons rising above the ridge. The pylons are the strongest identification feature and stand out even on worn coins. On the left is a soldier of the First World War and on the right a veteran soldier, framing the monument between past and present. Look for the twin pylons flanked by the two figures to confirm the design. Bianco also designed the 2000 Path of Knowledge and 2006 anniversary toonies, so he is responsible for several of the best-known designs in the series. Turn the coin over for Queen Elizabeth II in Susanna Blunt's portrait.
2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie ranks 9th lowest of 13 circulating toonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2006 10th Anniversary (Churchill) Toonie (5 million); the next more common is the 2008 Quebec City 400th Toonie (6.01 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Path of Knowledge Toonie with 29.9 million, about 5.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Toonie with 4.31 million.
It was released in 2017 alongside 1 other circulating toonie design: the Dance of the Spirits (10 million). The 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie was the scarcest of the year.
What to check on your 2017 Vimy Ridge Toonie
- Confirm the design: the Vimy Ridge reverse dated 2017, in a silver-colored ring with a gold-colored center.
- Check whether it has added color. Colored toonies came from collector products or special circulation releases; keep them out of rough handling.
- Look at the join between ring and core. It should be tight and even; a loose or damaged core is damage, not a rarity.
- Specimen and proof toonies from Mint sets have satin or mirror finishes that circulation coins never have.
The circulation mintage was 5,130,000, a touch above the usual five million for commemorative toonies of the period. Circulated examples are face value. The figures beside the memorial are small and lose detail quickly, so check their faces and uniforms when judging condition. A bright coin with sharp pylons and soldiers can draw a small premium from people building a set of the wartime toonies, which by 2017 had grown into a sizable group. Keep good examples apart from loose change, since contact with other coins is what wears them down.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2017 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,130,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.92 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Intermittent milling |
| Designer | Tony Bianco |
Other 2017 toonies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 Dance of the Spirits Toonie | 10,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What memorial is on the Vimy Ridge toonie?
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, designed by Walter Allward and unveiled in 1936. Its two pylons appear in the center of the coin, flanked by a First World War soldier on the left and a veteran on the right.
Is the 2017 Vimy Ridge toonie rare?
No. The Mint struck 5,130,000 for circulation, so it turns up in change regularly. Circulated coins are face value. Sharp uncirculated examples can carry a small premium, but the coin is not a rarity.
Mintage figures: Toonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.