Now A Counterfeit Loonie With Security Feature

Thanks for the info vonigohcr. I don't think John Q. Public will get any punishment if they have 1 or 2 kicking around in their change.

@vonigohcr - Agreed with your example, but as for the fake brass pounds, the proportion of circulating counterfeits was much higher - although it depended where in the country you were. Living in London shortly before the changeover, I remember a pretty consistent 20-25% of my change consisted of fake pounds. People accepted and spent them knowingly - no one really cared. There is an interesting online study circle now dedicated to them. Funnily enough, I lived in Montreal for two decades, and don't ever remember coming across a fake note or circulating coin (I wanted to, as I would have set it aside).

@loonielewy - I dont think its inconceivable that foreign criminal syndicates are at work here, importing the product from paces where setup / operation costs are lower. If I remember correctly, right after the introduction of polymer notes in Canada, authorities intercepted a huge shipment of very high quality counterfeit notes from China.

The only sure-fire method to determine authenticity that I know of is to have the coin sent off for 3rd party grading and verification. Unless I had a bet on it I wouldn't waste money on it.

The coin just LOOKS BAD but remember we only are looking at pictures.

The granular surfaces, the lack of sharpness in the border beads and lettering screams "something ain't" right with this coin. Most likely, if you looked at enough other Loonies you would probably find similiar coins with the same problems.

Until the coin is subjected to further examination I still lean on the side of it being counterfeit based on what I see.

he size and details of the border beads, the trees on the island, the jewels in the necklace, and the details in the security device do not look correct. The sandblast effect may come from casting- are the "sand" particles raised from the surface, or are they incuse? The counterfeit $2 show evidence of a black metal under the surface.

Paisa, Do you live in the Toronto area? That is where the counterfeit $2 coins surfaced.

Looks like a well worn coin that's been exposed to some sort of harsh environment.
Perhaps it was a fountain coin or buried for awhile.
The weight is spot on, your genuine coin is actually heavy.
There is no proof that this is a counterfeit, you'll need to have it XRF tested or certified by a TPG.
Unlike the camel toe toonies which have a number of markers to distinguish them from the real thing your coin has nothing like that, only your feeling that it doesn't "look right".
You need to do more investigation before you can declare it counterfeit.

PS does it stick to a magnet?

Question for my Canadian friends: what happens if you put a camel toe toonie in a vending machine?

Oh dear. Didn't realize they were that good of fakes.