2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie
The 2016 Battle of the Atlantic 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
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 5,000,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Yves Bérubé
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 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie worth?
5 million were made, so the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic 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 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie rare?
- No. 5 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie coins were made?
- 5,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- Who designed the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie?
- The design is credited to Yves Bérubé.
- What is the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie made of?
- Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.92 g and measures 28 mm.
- Is the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every toonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie was made
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous campaign of the Second World War, running from 1939 to 1945. Britain depended on convoys of merchant ships carrying food, fuel and weapons from North America and German submarines did everything they could to sink them. Canada took on a large share of the escort work. The Royal Canadian Navy grew from a handful of ships at the start of the war into one of the largest Allied navies by the end, while aircraft flew patrols over the convoys to hunt submarines from above.
The cost was heavy for sailors, airmen and merchant mariners alike, many of them very young. Halifax and other Canadian ports became the gathering points for convoys and the campaign shaped Canada's navy for decades afterward. Today the battle is remembered on the first Sunday of May. The Royal Canadian Mint issued this toonie for the 75th anniversary, giving the war at sea a place in everyday change alongside the land battles honored on other coins. It was one of several wartime anniversaries the Mint marked on circulating toonies in the mid 2010s.
How to recognize it
Yves Bérubé puts you on the deck of a Canadian warship. A sailor presses his eye to the viewfinder of his anti-aircraft gun, scanning the sky for threats. Two other Canadian vessels sit in the distance, while a Bristol Beaufighter flies overhead. It is a busy scene for such a small coin, so the sailor and gun in the foreground are what you will notice first. Look for those along with the ships on the horizon to confirm the design. Susanna Blunt's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II is on the obverse. Of all the wartime toonies, this is the one that puts you at sea rather than on land, which is a handy way to remember it.
2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie ranks 7th lowest of 13 circulating toonies with a published mintage. The next scarcer is the 2015 In Flanders Fields Toonie (5 million); the next more common is the 2006 10th Anniversary (Churchill) 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 2016.
What to check on your 2016 Battle of the Atlantic Toonie
- Confirm the design: the Battle of the Atlantic reverse dated 2016, 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.
With a circulation mintage of 5,000,000, the Battle of the Atlantic toonie is a common coin and circulated examples are face value. The tiny ships and aircraft in the background are the first things to disappear with wear, so they make a good test of condition. If you can still pick out the Beaufighter clearly and the coin has its original shine, it is a nice example that can carry a small premium. Coins with flattened detail or dented rims are ordinary pocket change, perfectly fine to spend.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,000,000 |
| Composition | Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.92 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Intermittent milling |
| Designer | Yves Bérubé |
Frequently asked questions
What does the Battle of the Atlantic toonie show?
A Canadian sailor at the sights of an anti-aircraft gun aboard a warship, with two more Canadian ships in the distance and a Bristol Beaufighter overhead. Yves Bérubé designed it for the battle's 75th anniversary.
How many 2016 Battle of the Atlantic toonies were made?
The Mint struck 5,000,000 for circulation, a standard figure for commemorative toonies of that decade. That makes it easy to find in change. Circulated coins are face value, while bright uncirculated ones can carry a small premium.
Mintage figures: Toonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.