2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie
The 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie is a circulating toonie. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- Not published
- Value band
- Face value
- Designer
- Jean Paul Riopelle
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 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie worth?
the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle 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 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie rare?
- No. It was made in large numbers, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie coins were made?
- The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure in our source.
- Who designed the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie?
- The design is credited to Jean Paul Riopelle.
- What is the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie made of?
- Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel. It weighs 6.92 g and measures 28 mm.
- Is the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie still legal tender?
- Yes. Every toonie, commemoratives included, is legal tender in Canada.
Why the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie was made
Jean Paul Riopelle was born in Montreal on October 7, 1923. He became one of the most important painters Canada has produced. As a young artist he joined the Automatistes, a Montreal circle around the painter Paul-Émile Borduas and in 1948 he signed Refus global, the manifesto that challenged the conservative society of Quebec at the time. He then moved to Paris, where his large abstract canvases, built up with thick layers of paint applied with a palette knife, earned him an international reputation.
Riopelle spent decades in France before returning to Quebec, where he continued to work until his death in 2002. His paintings hang in major museums and he is often counted among the leading abstract painters of the 20th century. For the 100th anniversary of his birth, the Royal Canadian Mint issued this circulating toonie based on his own work, so Riopelle is credited as the designer. It was a bold choice, since abstract art rarely appears on circulation coins. A circulation mintage for the coin is not published in the source used here.
How to recognize it
The reverse is a recreation of a Riopelle artwork, translated from paint into raised metal. Because the original is abstract, the coin does not show a person, animal or building in the usual way, which makes it look unlike almost every other toonie. Instead you see lines, shapes and textures arranged across the core, an echo of the energy of his canvases. That difference is the easiest way to identify it: if your 2023 toonie has an abstract composition rather than a scene or portrait, you very likely have the Riopelle coin. Expect the overall rhythm of the work to come through rather than every detail of the original painting.
2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie by the numbers
The Royal Canadian Mint has not published a circulation figure for the 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie in our source, so it cannot be ranked against other toonies yet.
2023 brought 1 other circulating toonie design.
What to check on your 2023 Jean Paul Riopelle Toonie
- Confirm the design: the Jean Paul Riopelle reverse dated 2023, 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.
No circulation mintage was published in the source, so this coin cannot be ranked against others by numbers. It went into general circulation and worn examples are face value. With an abstract design, wear is harder to judge than on a portrait or animal, so compare the sharpness of the raised lines and the luster in the fields. A bright, unmarked coin can carry a small premium, especially from collectors of Canadian art. It also makes a natural companion to the Bill Reid and Daphne Odjig toonies, the other coins in this group based on an artist's own work.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 2 dollars |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | Not published |
| Composition | Bimetallic multi-ply plated steel |
| Weight | 6.92 g |
| Diameter | 28 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Intermittent milling |
| Designer | Jean Paul Riopelle |
Other 2023 toonies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 National Indigenous Peoples Day Toonie | – | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Who was Jean Paul Riopelle?
A Montreal-born painter, born in 1923, who signed the Refus global manifesto in 1948 and became famous in Paris for large abstract canvases. He died in 2002. The 2023 toonie marks the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Is the Riopelle toonie a circulation coin?
Yes. It was issued into everyday circulation in 2023, so you can find it in change. No circulation figure is published in the source used here. Circulated examples are face value.
Mintage figures: Toonie (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.