As an American-born child, I always had a wonderful young life on a country farm and was gifted with coins for birthdays and Christmas. As I grew, I was given coins when I worked on the farm and a few when I was off to school to buy a pad of paper or pencils. As a teen, I loved to join in or share earned coins with friends at lunchtime to occasionally use a coin(s) to buy an A&W Root Beer or a hamburger. Imagine.

Growing up, I studied the monetary value of dollars and cents, specifically the history of the coins. They were a beautiful reminder of those who lived in our country before me.

Later, as I moved with my husband and son to Canada, we quickly learned the value of Canadian money – especially coins, and the normal dollar, on paper!  Soon after we arrived in 1987, Canada’s one-dollar circulation coin below had become a cherished Canadian symbol.

We affectionately dubbed this special coin the “Loonie”. The coin’s scene, one familiar across the Canadian Shield, is of a common Loon floating past an island on a calm lake. The coins here still end up in my change at a grocery store or even the bank.  I carry them in my purse. It seems correct.

I love the Maple and the “Loonie…”  and I celebrate the artwork that is moving into your CIC plans. This project is unique, and started early last month, for me, a start here and another there… there are so many beautiful coins celebrated in Canada.

You might be wondering how something that will always remind me of these coins will end up in my quilt.