A Commemorative Coin for a Canadian Cultural Hero: The Story Behind ‘Drop a Dime for the Man Who Drops Dimes’

In a world where athletes are cultural icons, it makes sense that we, the viewers, would want to preserve a legacy of their achievements for future generations to also appreciate. And for Aman Soin, Ashley Park and Mnrupe Virk - three students at Miami Ad School Toronto - with the help of their instructor and mentor Josh Budd, they found that the best way to do this would be through a coin. 

In this case, the athlete in question is the basketball player Kyle Lowry, a former player for the Toronto Raptors or, as the team affectionately calls him, “the GROAT” [Greatest Raptor of All Time]. 

Despite now plying his trade for the Miami Heat, Lowry holds multiple Raptors records, leading in all-time triple-doubles, three-pointers, assists and steals. He was also an integral part of the team that brought Canada their first NBA title. But these aren’t the only reasons why the team wanted to commemorate Lowry’s efforts on the court.

“Beyond the numbers, he’s got spirit and team leadership you can’t overlook,” they said. “He consistently pushed himself and the team to do better and be better. Sure, he started off as a bit of an underdog. But he doesn’t back down and we think that’s kind of the perfect metaphor for the Raptors.” 

Moreover, the team was struck by Lowry’s efforts outside the game. Specifically, they had great respect for Lowry’s charity, which leads initiatives and supports the underprivileged and disadvantaged in both Toronto and Philadelphia. 

But they added that the idea didn’t really come about until earlier this year when Kyle Lowry himself was still deciding whether or not he’d stay in Toronto. “It was crazy timing. The assignment was tied to a bank so we thought it’d be cool to play in their financial space. After toying with some ideas around new products and processes, we realised that important figures in Canadian history are commemorated by having their faces put on money. So the goal was just to do something that showed Kyle no matter whether he stayed or moved on, we appreciated everything he’d done for the city.”

While his decision to leave did slightly impact the messaging, the discovery of the ability to submit designs with rationales to the Canadian Mint proved to be an exciting opportunity on the branding front, allowing the team to use a catchphrase of “Drop a dime for the man who drops dimes.” 

From there, the question of designing a coin was a crucial one. After much brainstorming and versioning, Ashley Park led the team to a design that they felt captured Lowry in his element. “We wanted people to look at it and think, ‘Is that real? Wait, why isn't that real? It should be!’.”  

However, the Canadian Mint cannot simply implement every pitched design, instead doing market research into the popularity of potential coin designs. As such, the team started a petition with the hopes of gaining public support to bolster the standing of their idea. 

“Ideally all 37,894,799 Canadians would sign the petition, but babies can’t type,” they said. “Realistically, hitting 10000 would be amazing. The petition shows the Canadian Mint that Lowry means a lot to Canada and helps push our formal submission that much further.  

Despite the project having its roots in a school assignment, the team’s efforts were certainly bolstered by their own personal appreciation for Lowry. 

“The truth is, we’re not stats-quoting, analysis-following, crazy-huge basketball fans - we’re just Lowry fans,” they said. “If we got the chance to talk to him, I think we’d just want him to know that regardless of his decision to leave, we’re grateful for what he’s done for our team, city and country. During our championship run, it didn’t matter if you were watching from Halifax or Vancouver - we were all on the same team. Kyle did what great athletes do - united us in our love for the game and made us believe in the impossible.