2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie
The 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie is a circulating toonie with 5 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2014
- Circulation mintage
- 5,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Claude Dettloff
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 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie worth?
5 million were made, so the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy 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 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie rare?
- No. 5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie coins were made?
- 5,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie?
- The design is credited to Claude Dettloff.
- What is the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie made of?
- Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.92 g and measures 28 mm.
- Is the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every toonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie was made
On October 1, 1940, the British Columbia Regiment marched down a street in New Westminster on its way to war. Photographer Claude Dettloff was there and caught a five-year-old boy, Warren 'Whitey' Bernard, slipping away from his mother's hand and running toward his father, Jack Bernard, who reaches back toward him from the line of soldiers. The picture, known as Wait for Me, Daddy, was printed widely and became one of the best-known Canadian images of the Second World War, a reminder of what families gave up when soldiers left home.
The story has a happy ending. Jack Bernard came home in 1945 and the photograph has stayed in Canadian memory ever since, reproduced in books, exhibitions and classrooms. In 2014, 75 years after Canada declared war in September 1939, the Royal Canadian Mint put the scene on a circulating toonie. That choice was unusual: rather than a battle, a general or a memorial, the coin shows an ordinary family on an ordinary street. Many Canadians who had never seen the original photograph met it for the first time in their change.
How to recognize it
The design is based on Claude Dettloff's photograph and keeps its famous composition. The small boy reaches out from the curb toward his father, who looks back and stretches a hand toward him from a column of marching soldiers. The scene fills the core and is easy to read even on worn coins because the outstretched arms are the focus. Look for the child and the soldiers to confirm the design, then turn it over to find Queen Elizabeth II in the Susanna Blunt portrait. The boy's outstretched arm is the detail most people remember from the photograph and it stays easy to pick out on the coin.
2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie ranks 4th lowest of 13 circulating toonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2012 War of 1812: HMS Shannon Toonie (5 million); the next more common is the 2015 John A. Macdonald Toonie (5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Path of Knowledge Toonie with 29.9 million, about 6 times as many. The scarcest is the 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Toonie with 4.31 million.
It was the only circulating commemorative toonie dated 2014.
What to check on your 2014 Wait for Me, Daddy Toonie
- Confirm the design: the Wait for Me, Daddy reverse dated 2014, 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 5,000,000, a typical run for a modern commemorative toonie. Ordinary circulated coins are face value. Collectors look for coins where the small figures, especially the boy and his father's hand, are still sharp, because those are tiny details that wear quickly. An unmarked, lustrous coin can bring a small premium. A sharp one is worth moving from your pocket into a flip or holder. Scratched or heavily worn coins are face value finds.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2014 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,000,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.92 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Intermittent milling |
| Designer | Claude Dettloff |
Frequently asked questions
Who is the boy on the Wait for Me, Daddy toonie?
He is Warren 'Whitey' Bernard, aged five, running toward his father Jack Bernard as the British Columbia Regiment marched through New Westminster on October 1, 1940. Claude Dettloff took the photograph the coin is based on.
Did the soldier in Wait for Me, Daddy come home?
Yes. Jack Bernard returned to his family in 1945 after serving overseas. The photograph of his son reaching for him became one of Canada's best-known wartime images and appeared on a circulating toonie in 2014.
Mintage figures: Toonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.