Canadian Coins: A Guide From the Cent to the Toonie

The coins in Canadian change

Most designs have barely changed in decades, which makes Canadian coins easy to learn. Here's what each one shows on its standard reverse.

• 5 cents: a beaver on a rock
• 10 cents: the Bluenose schooner under sail
• 25 cents: a caribou head, the coin most often mixed up with a US quarter
• 50 cents: the Canadian coat of arms, made but rarely seen in change
• 1 dollar, the loonie: a common loon on an 11-sided gold-colored coin, issued since 1987
• 2 dollars, the toonie: a polar bear on a two-metal coin, issued since 1996
• 1 cent: the maple twig, no longer made but still legal tender

The Royal Canadian Mint

Canada's earliest coins were struck in England, some at the private Heaton mint in Birmingham, which marked them with a small H. A branch of the Royal Mint opened in Ottawa in 1908 and became the Royal Canadian Mint in 1931. Today the everyday coins are produced at the Winnipeg facility, while Ottawa handles collector and bullion work.

Since 2006 Canadian coins have carried a small Mint logo in place of older marks.

The portraits

Every Canadian coin carries the reigning monarch: Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Elizabeth II and now Charles III. Elizabeth II alone had four portraits on Canadian coins. Mary Gillick's young Queen came first in 1953, Arnold Machin's version in 1965, then Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait in 1990 and Susanna Blunt's uncrowned one in 2003.

That makes the portrait a reliable shortcut. A Queen with no crown, tiara or wreath means 2003 or later, while a young Queen with a laurel wreath in her hair points to the 1950s and early 1960s.

The end of the cent

The Royal Canadian Mint struck its last cents in 2012 and stopped distributing them in February 2013, because each one cost more to make than it was worth. Shops now round cash totals to the nearest five cents, while card payments stay exact.

Cents remain legal tender, so a jar of them can still be spent or taken to a bank. The scarce ones are mostly older dates, covered in the cent guide. If you're emptying a jar, pick out the older dates before rolling the rest.

Metals: silver and steel

Canadian dimes and quarters dated 1967 or earlier contain silver, so they're worth setting aside. Most modern Canadian coins are plated steel and stick to a magnet, which is a quick way to tell them from a US coin of the same size.

What to look for in Canadian change

Most Canadian coins you'll find are common, but a few groups reward a look. Old cents, especially large cents and the early 1920s small cents, are the deepest field. Lucky loonies and low-mintage commemorative loonies are easy wins from modern change. Condition matters more than most people expect, so keep the sharpest examples you find.

The Mint has also issued colored quarters for circulation, beginning with the 2004 poppy quarter, Canada's first colored circulating coin. Each group has its own guide, with tables of dates and mintages.

Frequently asked questions