I got a US coin in my change. Except it wasn’t

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I was putting my coins away and saw one that I didn’t recognise. It had a guy’s head on it, so I thought it was an American coin, but it didn’t look right.

So I looked at it more closely. It was a Canadian quarter, but with a guy?

Looked at it even more closely.

It’s Charlie!

First coin with His Majesty that’s found its way into my change.

All my life, our coins have had a woman on them, so when I saw a guy on the coin, I assumed it was foreign.

(The Royal Canadian Mint did advise use that it would take a whole to get the Charlie coins into circulation, due to the care needed in preparing the effigy, then the dies, and scaling up to a nation-wide production chain.)

2

I’ve been getting them on the regular for a few months now. Currently two kings (both quarters, but I’ve seen dimes and nickels, too) and four queens among my change.

3

So King Charles is going to be the change people want to see in their life?

4

Took me a moment to realize who the OP was. To us Americans, “I got a US coin in my change” doesn’t seem like it’s worth noting at all, and “it has a guy on it” certainly wouldn’t trigger a reaction of “It’s US”.

5

He’s the change you get, not the change you want.

Stranger

6

I wonder if Charles will give quarter?

7

To call someone who cares?

8

I wouldn’t expect to see a Canadian quarter these days with anyone’s image on it other than QE II, but coins circulate long enough (and I’m old enough) that the concept of a guy’s head instead of QE II would have brought to mind the George VI coins I still remember as a kid, though they were vanishing quickly. I may even have used some to buy ice cream at the Dairy Queen* down the street!

* Not actual royalty.

9

Does the rubber cover Charles’ head?

Stranger

10

There’s no way the US Mint would put someone with such a weak chin on their coins.

11

His nose is definitely noticeable in the profile on the coins.

12

You say that now, but the current US president’s image has already been put onto coins by other sources: I can see a dystopian near-future where it’s on coins issued by the US mint. Spoilered so as not to derail / politicize the thread with a silly response. (https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61qYXjMZFSL.jpg)

13

Well, it was an American who said “No quarter asked or given!”

(John Paul Jones, hell of a sailor and bass player)

14

I can’t remember the last time I used coins. Basically I use 20s to pay our house cleaners and 5s for tips. So I guess I’ll never see a Cholly.

15

This thread inspired me to look it up. He’ll be on the $20 by 2027 (presuming he’s still with us).

16

We just drove back to the States today after a week in Ontario. It didn’t even occur to me to look until I saw this thread, but I got Chuckles on a quarter at the farmer’s market yesterday.

17

Meanwhile, the UK Royal Mint has just issued the last of its stock of QE2 coins:

18

I know how that feels - I recently got my first Charlie coin in Australian currency.

It has Bluey on the front.

19

That seems real, but it can’t be. Can it?

20

Apparently it is a real Australian dollar coin. There were two coins with a representation of a cartoon character minted in 2024.