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The Canadian two dollar coin, commonly called the toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works minister Diane Marleau. The toonie is a bi-metallic coin which on the reverse side bears an image of a polar bear by artist Brent Townsend. The obverse, like all other current Canadian circulation coins, has a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. It has the words "ELIZABETH II / D.G. REGINA" in a different typeface from any other Canadian coin; it is also the only coin to consistently bear its issue date on the obverse. The coin is manufactured using a patented distinctive bi-metallic coin locking mechanism.〔 The coins are estimated to last 20 years. The discontinued two-dollar bill was less expensive to manufacture, but on average each bill lasted only one year. On April 10, 2012, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) announced design changes to the loonie and toonie, which include new security features.〔() Royal Canadian Mint. Retrieved 2012-07-12.〕 Prior to 2012, the coin consisted of an aluminum bronze inner core with a pure nickel outer ring; however in spring 2012 the composition of the inner core switched to aluminum bronze coated with multi-ply plated brass, and the outer ring switched to steel coated with multi-ply plated nickel. The weight dropped from 7.30 to 6.92 grams, and the thickness changed from 1.8 to 1.75 millimetres. The Mint states that multi-ply plated steel technology, already used in Canada's smaller coinage, produces an electromagnetic signature that is harder to counterfeit than that for regular alloy coins; also, using steel provides cost savings and avoids fluctuations in price or supply of nickel.〔 ==Naming== "Toonie" is a portmanteau word combining the number "two" with the name of the loonie, Canada's one-dollar coin. It is occasionally spelled "twonie" or "twoonie", but Canadian newspapers and the Royal Canadian Mint use the "toonie" spelling. When the coin was introduced, a number of nicknames were suggested. Some of the early ones included the ''bearie'' (analogous to the loonie and its loon), the ''bearly'', the ''deuce'', the ''doubloonie'' (a play on "double loonie" and the former Spanish doubloon coin), and the ''moonie'' (because it depicted "the Queen with a bear behind"). Jack Iyerak Anawak, Member of Parliament from Nunatsiaq, Nunavut, suggested the name ''Nanuq'' (polar bear ) in honour of Canada's Inuit people and their northern culture; however, this culturally meaningful proposal went largely unnoticed beside the popular "toonie". The name "toonie" became so widely accepted that in 2006 the Royal Canadian Mint secured the rights to it. A competition to name the bear resulted in the name "Churchill", a reference both to Winston Churchill and to the common polar bear sightings in Churchill, Manitoba.〔(Royal Canadian Mint ). "Canadians Choose Churchill as Official Name of Toonie Polar Bear." Retrieved 27 Jan 2011.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Toonie」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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