Credit, Royal Canadian Mint
Canada will put into circulation its first – and the world’s first – glow-in-the-dark currency.
Known locally as the “two dollar coin,” the Canadian two dollar coin (approximately R$5) was produced following a design competition that received more than 10,000 entries.
It shows two people rowing a boat with the Northern Lights in the background.
The Royal Canadian Mint, the institution responsible for producing coins, is releasing 3 million “two-dollar pieces” to celebrate Canada’s 150th anniversary.
During the day, the scene appears colored blue and green. In the dark, it glows.
The piece was designed by Dr. Timothy Hsia, who said he was inspired by the competition’s theme: “our wonders.”
“I wanted to choose something really wonderful,” he said. “And I think there’s nothing more wonderful than the Canadian Northern Lights.”
Credit, Royal Canadian Mint
The decision to release the first glow-in-the-dark coin was made by the Royal Canadian Mint, which also produces coins for 75 other countries.
Organization spokesman Alex Reeves says the goal is to demonstrate “a bit of Canadian innovation and pride in the celebrations” of the country’s 150th anniversary.
The country had already experimented with the glow-in-the-dark technique in 2012, with a 25-cent coin depicting a dinosaur skeleton, but it was never put into circulation – according to the Canadian press, it was minted in 25 thousand copies for collectors, which sold for around 30 Canadian dollars (about R$75).
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