Canadian Pennies: Values, Rare Dates and 2013 Phase-Out

Canadian pennies are no longer made or handed out as change, but they are still legal money. The Royal Canadian Mint struck the last one at its Winnipeg plant on May 4, 2012, and stopped distributing them on February 4, 2013; the government cited a production cost of 1.6 cents per coin (Wikipedia). Existing pennies remain legal tender indefinitely.

Cash totals in Canada are now rounded to the nearest 5 cents: totals ending in 1 or 2 round down to 0, those ending in 3, 4, 6 or 7 round to 5, and those ending in 8 or 9 round up to 10. Card and other non-cash payments are charged to the exact cent (Wikipedia).

Most Canadian pennies are worth one cent. The ones that bring more are low-mintage dates of the 1920s and a few die varieties. Prices below are from the Coins and Canada price guide, in Canadian dollars, checked September 25, 2026, unless another source is named:

• 1936 dot cent: a dot below the date marks coins struck in 1937 with 1936 dies while new dies were awaited after Edward VIII's abdication; three are known and one sold for US$402,500 at Heritage in January 2010 (Wikipedia).
• 1923 (1,019,002 struck, Wikipedia): $25 in G-4, $77.30 in EF-40, $326 in MS-60, $1,950 in MS-63.
• 1925 (1,000,622 struck, Wikipedia): $25 in G-4, $60.30 in EF-40, $1,140 in MS-63.
• 1922: $15 in G-4, $231 in MS-60, $1,320 in MS-63.
• 1924: $8 in G-4, $877 in MS-63. 1926: $4.50 in G-4, $605 in MS-63.
• 1955 no shoulder fold: Queen Elizabeth's portrait without the fold of fabric on the shoulder; $137 in VG-8, $176 in F-12, $6,900 in MS-65.
• 1947 maple leaf: a small leaf next to the date marks 1947-dated coins struck into 1948 (Wikipedia). Blunt 7: $352 in MS-65; pointed 7: $122 in MS-65.
• 1949 'A' pointing to a denticle: $71.90 in MS-60, $10,900 in MS-66.

Wikipedia also records pattern pieces: an 1859 brass 'narrow 9' sold for US$9,000 in Fine details on August 15, 2019, and a 1937 brass pattern for US$4,230 on August 2, 2017.

The monarch on the front narrows the date range (period groupings from the Coins and Canada guide): Victoria 1858–1901, Edward VII 1902–1910, George V 1911–1936, George VI 1937–1952, Elizabeth II from 1953. Then use size, shape and metal (Wikipedia):

• Large cents, 1858–1920: 25.4 mm across. The small 19.1 mm cent with the maple-leaf reverse began in 1920.
• Two maple leaves on one twig: the reverse by G.E. Kruger-Gray from 1937 (Royal Canadian Mint).
• Rock dove, 1967: the Centennial design by Alex Colville.
• Twelve-sided, 1982–1996: added to help visually impaired people; round again from 1997.
• Magnetic: copper-plated steel cents were made from 2000 onward (Royal Canadian Mint); a 'P' under the Queen's bust on some 2000s coins marks the plated steel version, and 2006 cents come with a P, an RCM logo or nothing under the bust.

A scale separates the compositions (Wikipedia):

• 1876–1920 (large): 5.67 g, 95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc.
• 1920–1941: 3.24 g, same bronze.
• 1942–1977: 3.24 g, 98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc.
• 1980–1981: 2.8 g. 1982–1996: 2.5 g, both 98% copper.
• 1997–2001: 2.25 g, copper-plated zinc, not magnetic.
• 2002–2012: 2.35 g, copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel), magnetic.

A coin that does not match its year's weight or magnet result is worth a closer look, but plating damage is more common than a true error.

Both countries have now stopped making circulation pennies. Canada struck its last on May 4, 2012 and rounds cash to 5 cents; the U.S. Mint struck its last circulation cent on November 12, 2025, and U.S. cents remain legal tender (Wikipedia). A Canadian cent found in U.S. change is face value 1 Canadian cent, about 0.71 U.S. cent at the Bank of Canada rate of 1.4136 CAD per USD on September 24, 2026. Valuable U.S. cents are listed on the Lincoln penny value by year pages.

Research and drafting for this page were assisted by AI and checked line by line against the sources listed below. Prices are copied from the named price guide, dealer listing or auction report with its date; where a figure could not be confirmed we say so rather than estimate. If you find an error, tell us and we will correct it.

Check these features, in this order. Prices are from the Coins and Canada price guide, Canadian dollars, checked September 25, 2026:

• Date 1922 to 1926 or 1936 with a dot: see the list above.
• 1965, look at the 5 and the beads: the dots around the rim come small or large, and the 5 has a blunt or pointed tip. Large beads with a pointed 5 is the scarce one: $3.40 in F-12, $13.70 in AU-50, $214 in MS-65. Small beads with a pointed 5 is $0.15 in F-12 and $68.30 in MS-65. The blunt-5 versions are $0.05 worn.
• 1967 doubled die obverse: $205 in MS-65.
• 1978 double date: $31.50 in MS-65.
• 1985 pointed 5: $115 in MS-65.
• 2006, test with a magnet: a 2006 cent with a P under the bust that is not magnetic lists at $500 in MS-60 and $1,660 in MS-65. A 2006 with no mark that is magnetic runs from $5 in VG-8 to $58 in AU-50.
• Large cents 1858–1920: the 1859 narrow 9 in brass lists at $12,900 in G-4, while common dates such as 1919 are $0.75 in G-4.

Only the ones on the list above. The Coins and Canada price guide, Canadian dollars, checked September 25, 2026 prices ordinary circulated cents from 1966 to 1980 at $0.05 and from 1981 to 1989 at $0.04 in every circulated grade, so a jar of mixed pennies is worth about face value plus a little. Sort by date, pull 1965, 1967, 1978, 1985, 2006 and anything from before 1937, and check those against the list; the rest can go to the bank at face value.

In U.S. money one Canadian cent is about 0.71 U.S. cent, using European Central Bank reference rates for September 24, 2026 (1.1367 U.S. dollars and 1.6047 Canadian dollars per euro).