2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie
The 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie is a circulating loonie with 10 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2009
- Circulation mintage
- 10,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Royal Canadian Mint staff
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 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie worth?
10 million were made, so the 2009 Montreal Canadiens 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 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie rare?
- No. 10 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie coins were made?
- 10,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie?
- The design is credited to Royal Canadian Mint staff.
- What is the 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie made of?
- Nickel plated with aureate bronze. It weighs 7.0 g and measures 26.5 mm, with an 11-sided shape.
- Is the 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every loonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie was made
The Montreal Canadiens were founded in December 1909, which makes the club older than the National Hockey League itself. Over the following century the team won 24 Stanley Cups, more than any other franchise and became a central part of hockey culture in Quebec and across Canada. For the club's centennial the Royal Canadian Mint issued a loonie in 2009, one of the first times a professional sports team appeared on a circulating Canadian coin. The team's nickname, the Habs, comes from les Habitants, an old name for the early French settlers.
The coin was released into circulation with a mintage of 10,000,000, a large run that reflected how widely the team is followed. That also means it shows up in change across the country, not just in Quebec. It opened a new chapter for the loonie, too: the following year brought a coin for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and later loonies honored the Grey Cup and the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you are a hockey fan sorting through change, this is the coin that started the sports team trend on the loonie.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows the Canadiens' famous CH logo, the letters set inside the club's familiar outline, with the double date 1909 to 2009 marking the centennial. It is a clean design and one of the easiest loonies to recognize. The reverse is credited to Royal Canadian Mint staff, while the obverse carries Susanna Blunt's portrait of the Queen, used on Canadian coins from 2003. To confirm the issue, look for the logo and the two dates together. A loonie with the CH and the 2009 centennial dates is the commemorative; nothing else in the series looks like it. Under a light, the outline of the logo should look sharp and even all the way around.
2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie ranks 12th lowest of 19 circulating loonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2010 Navy Centennial Loonie (7 million); the next more common is the 2017 Connecting a Nation Loonie (10 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1992 Confederation 125 Loonie with 23 million, about 2.3 times as many. The scarcest is the 2019 Equality Loonie with 3 million, 3.3 times fewer than this one.
It was the only circulating commemorative loonie dated 2009.
What to check on your 2009 Montreal Canadiens Loonie
- Confirm the design and date: the Montreal Canadiens reverse dated 2009. 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.
Ten million were struck for circulation, which places it among the more common commemorative loonies. Worn pieces are face value coins. Fans saved a lot of them, so uncirculated examples are around too and a clean one can earn a small premium. The logo has fine edges that pick up nicks easily, so check them under a light. If you find yours mounted in a card or sealed package, it came from a collector product. Loose coins with scuffs and toning came from change and that is how most people encounter this one.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 dollar |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2009 |
| Circulation mintage | 10,000,000 |
| Composition | Nickel plated with aureate bronze |
| Weight | 7.0 g |
| Diameter | 26.5 mm |
| Shape | 11-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
| Designer | Royal Canadian Mint staff |
Frequently asked questions
Is the Montreal Canadiens loonie rare?
No. The Royal Canadian Mint made 10,000,000 for circulation in 2009, so circulated coins are face value. It is popular with hockey fans, which keeps interest up, but uncirculated pieces still only carry a small premium.
What do the dates on the Canadiens loonie mean?
The double date 1909 to 2009 marks the club's centennial. The Canadiens were founded in December 1909, before the NHL existed and went on to win 24 Stanley Cups. That record makes them one of the most successful clubs in professional sport.
Mintage figures: Loonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.