2020 Bill Reid Toonie
The 2020 Bill Reid Toonie is a circulating toonie. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2020
- Circulation mintage
- Not published
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Bill Reid
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 2020 Bill Reid Toonie worth?
the 2020 Bill Reid 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 2020 Bill Reid Toonie rare?
- No. It was made in large numbers, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2020 Bill Reid Toonie coins were made?
- The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure in our source.
- Who designed the 2020 Bill Reid Toonie?
- The design is credited to Bill Reid.
- What is the 2020 Bill Reid Toonie made of?
- Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.92 g and measures 28 mm.
- Is the 2020 Bill Reid Toonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every toonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2020 Bill Reid Toonie was made
Bill Reid was born in Victoria, British Columbia, in 1920. His mother was Haida and as an adult he set out to learn the art of her people, studying the work of earlier Haida carvers and jewelers. He began his working life as a radio broadcaster, but he became one of the most important Northwest Coast artists of the 20th century, working in gold, silver, wood and bronze. He helped spark a revival of Haida art and inspired a generation of Indigenous artists.
His best-known pieces include The Raven and the First Men, carved in yellow cedar and The Spirit of Haida Gwaii, a large bronze canoe crowded with figures from Haida stories. Several of his works appeared on the back of a Canadian twenty-dollar note. Reid died in 1998. For the 100th anniversary of his birth in 2020, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a circulating toonie based on his own artwork, so the designer credit goes to Reid himself. No circulation figure for it appears in the source behind this page.
How to recognize it
The reverse reproduces a Bill Reid rendering of the Haida grizzly bear, drawn in the bold formline style of Haida art, with its flowing outlines, ovoid shapes and strong curves. It fills the core and looks quite unlike the lifelike wildlife on most Canadian coins. His name and the year of issue sit between two micro-engraved maple leaves, small security details that reward a close look with a magnifier. Look for the stylized bear and Reid's name to confirm the design. The obverse has the Queen in Susanna Blunt's portrait. Next to the busy wartime designs of the same period, the bold, rounded shapes of this bear make it one of the easiest modern toonies to pick out.
2020 Bill Reid Toonie by the numbers
The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure for the 2020 Bill Reid Toonie in our source, so it cannot be ranked against other toonies yet.
2020 brought 1 other circulating toonie design.
What to check on your 2020 Bill Reid Toonie
- Confirm the design: the Bill Reid reverse dated 2020, 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 source for this page gives no circulation mintage, so a precise comparison is not possible. The coin went into everyday change and circulated examples are face value. The fine lines of formline art are what wear first, so a coin with crisp, sharply defined curves is the one to keep. Uncirculated examples can carry a small premium from collectors who want the full run of commemorative toonies or who collect Indigenous art on coins. The micro-engraved maple leaves are a good test of condition: if you can still see them clearly, the coin has seen little wear.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2020 |
| Circulation mintage | Not published |
| Composition | Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.92 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Intermittent milling |
| Designer | Bill Reid |
Other 2020 toonies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 End of World War II Toonie | – | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the Bill Reid toonie?
The design is Bill Reid's own: a Haida grizzly bear rendered in the formline style he helped revive. The Mint adapted his artwork for the 100th anniversary of his birth in 1920, so Reid is credited as the designer.
What is written on the Bill Reid toonie?
The coin carries Bill Reid's name and the year of issue, 2020, placed between two micro-engraved maple leaves. The core shows his Haida grizzly bear design in the bold formline style of Northwest Coast art.
Mintage figures: Toonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.