With Canada’s 150th anniversary just around the corner, the Royal Canadian Mint is making a change to one of our most iconic coins.

No, the Canadian penny is not making a triumphant return featuring teen Olympic legend Penny Oleksiak (although one can dream, amiright?). But trust, this announcement is enough to make you start wanting to pay for things with real cash monies instead of plastic.

The Toonie, Canada’s two-toned $2 coin, is getting a glow-in-the-dark makeover. That’s right. The change in your wallet will now glow just as brightly as your childhood bedroom with those florescent green stick-on ceiling stars you def know you had.

According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the new Toonie is the first and only coin in the world to glow-in-the-dark. Imagine, being able to reach into the endless cavern that is your purse and being able to swiftly retrieve a two-dollar coin simply with a quick glance. Think how much easier it will be to get just the right coinage to buy your daily medium Tim Horton’s coffee, indulge in a night-time Caramilk or tipping your bartender at da club (that last one doesn’t really apply to me these days). 

The new design is named “Dance of the Spirits” and is part of the “My Canada, My Inspiration” collection of coins going into circulation this year to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary. Out of the five coins, the Toonie is the only one that will be glow in the dark. The coin, designed by B.C. physician Timothy Hsia, showcases the a paddler canoeing underneath the aurora borealis—and in the dark, the Northern Lights on the coin come to life. It’s basically a party in your pocket.

While the entire collection is stunning (including a beautiful new quarter with colourful designs created by Ontario’s 9-year-old Joelle Wong), the Toonie’s new makeover—that transfers seamlessly from day to night—is clearly the king of the new coins.

Three million glow-in-the-dark Toonies will soon go into circulation across Canada and you can also buy them at Royal Canadian Mint boutiques in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver or online. From the reaction on Twitter, it looks like some Canadians have already gotten their hands on the new coins. 

TBH, I fully remember when Toonies were first introduced in 1996. I was six years old, with a mouth full of wiggly teeth and dreams of being the first kid in my class to get the new two-coloured coin as a gift from the tooth fairy (*spoiler alert* I was the second). The Royal Canadian Mint was basically Willy Wonka in my world, and we all wanted that coin with the golden centre. Yes, it was mostly because rumour had it that you could put it in the freezer and pop out the middle, minting a new style of real chic elementary-school pendants, but still. In the 1990s, the Toonie was too cool.

Now, more than two decades later, both the Toonie and I have grown up and are clearly living our best lives.

But hey, that’s just my two cents.

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