Voyageur dollar
Canada | |
| Value | 1 CAD |
|---|---|
| Mass | 15.62 g |
| Diameter | 1935-1967 36 mm, 1968-1987 32.15 mm |
| Thickness | 2.88 mm |
| Edge | Milled |
| Composition | 1935–1968 80% Ag, 20% Cu 1968–1987 99.9% Ni |
| Years of minting | 1935–1987 |
| Catalog number | – |
| Obverse | |
| Design | |
| Designer | |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Voyageur and an aboriginal travelling by canoe |
| Designer | Emanuel Hahn |
The voyageur dollar is a coin of Canada that was struck for circulation from 1935 through 1986. Two major versions of the coin were produced: a larger, silver coin (80% silver) from 1935 to 1968, and a smaller, nickel version from 1968 through 1986. In 1987, the coin was replaced by the loonie. Like all of Canada's discontinued coins, the voyageur dollar coins remain legal tender.
The reverse design of the coin features an Indigenous man and a French-Canadian voyageur paddling a canoe, with an island with two trees in the background. Vertical lines in the background represent the Northern Lights, and bundles in the canoe feature the initials H.B., representing the Hudson's Bay Company. This image represents a romanticized version of Canada's early history with the fur trade, and came to be known as the "voyageur" design. The design was made by Canadian Emmanuel Hahn, whose initials appear on the coin (EH at left under canoe).