Counterfeit coins or performance art?

Here's an interesting story from CTV news.

OPP warn of counterfeit 'Z dollard' toonies surfacing in eastern Ontario

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTV News Ottawa Ontario Provincial Police are warning businesses of some counterfeit toonies that were found at a store in Hawkesbury. Officers were called to the store on Regent Street at around 11 a.m. Tuesday because someone had used counterfeit coins to buy things. A photo shared by police shows the coins have the same coloration as real toonies, but a cursory glance reveals they're anything but. They have a walrus on one side instead of a polar bear, and are stamped as being worth "Z DOLLARD". The image purporting to be of Queen Elizabeth II is also incorrect. The coins are also dated 1990, when the first real toonies weren't in circulation until 1996.

Wikipedia article showing what a real Canadian $2 coin looks like.

While the coins certainly are not legitimate, it may be a stretch to call them counterfeit. Usually the term implies the article is carefully crafted to look exactly like the original in hopes of passing it off as such.

To me this looks more like an artist saying, "Look how clever I am, that I can make a coin that looks like a toonie but obviously isn't."

Is making a look-alike but obviously fake coin illegal? (Probably not, as long no attempt is made to use it to purchase goods.) Is putting it into circulation illegal? (Could well be.)

via International Skeptics Forum https://ift.tt/3qkB1uC