1912 Canadian Nickel
The 1912 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 5.86 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1912
- Circulation mintage
- 5,863,170
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1912 Canadian Nickel worth?
The 1912 Canadian Nickel is a silver coin with 0.0345 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0345 times the day's silver spot price. With 5.86 million made, worn examples trade for about their silver; collectors pay more for sharp, original coins and much more for uncirculated ones with full luster.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1912 Canadian Nickel rare?
- Not by mintage. 5.86 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1912 Canadian nickels were made?
- 5,863,170 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1912 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver). It weighs 1.17 g and measures 15.5 mm.
- Is the 1912 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender, but a silver one is worth more for its metal than its face value.
The 1912 nickel in context
After the Godless outcry of 1911 the mint moved quickly. Five cents dated 1912 restored the missing words to the legend, which now read GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. This full wording stayed on the coin until the end of the reign. The 1912 is therefore the first year of the corrected George V legend, the version found on all later George V silver. The restored phrase was a quick answer to the Godless complaints and stayed on Canadian coins of later reigns too.
It was also a big year for production. The Ottawa mint struck 5,863,170 five cents in 1912, the highest total yet for the denomination. Canada's economy and population were growing rapidly before the First World War and the demand for small change grew with them. That large mintage makes the 1912 one of the easier George V silver dates to find. The figure was not beaten until 1918, when wartime demand pushed output above six million. For a beginner it is one of the friendliest silver five cents to own.
How to recognize it
Mackennal's crowned portrait of George V is unchanged, but the legend now wraps more fully around it with DEI GRA restored. Compare a 1911 and a 1912 side by side and the extra words are obvious. The reverse is the same: 5 CENTS and the date in a ring of maple leaves under a crown. The coin is still struck in sterling silver and weighs about 1.17 g. A well struck example shows clear detail in the king's crown and the folds of his robes. Because the design was used through 1921, the 1912 sets the pattern for every silver five cents of the reign that followed.
1912 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1912 Canadian Nickel ranks 70th lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1910 Canadian Nickel (5.85 million); the next more common is the 1918 Canadian Nickel (6.05 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 48 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 29 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1912 output was 1.6 times the 1911 figure and about the same as 1913.
Over the 1910s the Mint produced 48.3 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1912 Canadian Nickel accounts for 12% of that.
What to check on your 1912 Canadian Nickel
- Check the date first: silver Canadian nickels carry dates from 1858 to 1921; this one has 0.0345 troy oz. Silver coins are not magnetic and ring clearly when dropped on a hard surface.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot at once and that cut the value of silver dates sharply.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older five cent coins.
The 1912 is a common date in worn condition, so collectors look for coins with strong detail and good surfaces. It makes a great pair with the 1911 to show the change in the legend. Make sure the coin has not been cleaned, which leaves fine scratches across the field. A pair of 1911 and 1912 coins tells the whole Godless story in two small pieces of silver, which makes them a favorite way to introduce new collectors. Avoid holed or bent pieces.
George V silver five cents (1911 to 1921)
George V's portrait by Sir Bertram Mackennal arrived in 1911 and started with a famous blunder. The legend left out DEI GRA, the phrase meaning by the grace of God, so the 1911 coins were quickly nicknamed Godless. After public complaints the phrase was restored in 1912 and stayed. The reverse kept the maple wreath and crown around 5 CENTS and the date. The coin was still tiny at about 1.17 g and still struck in Ottawa.
War pushed output up. Mintages climbed from just over a million in 1915 to nearly eleven million in 1920. Silver prices also rose sharply after the war, so from 1920 the fineness was cut from .925 to .800. By then the little coin had plenty of critics, since it was easy to drop and lose. In 1922 Canada replaced it with a much larger coin made of nickel. Most of the 1921 silver five cents were still at the mint when the switch came and were melted down, turning an ordinary mintage into one of the great Canadian rarities.
Check the legend first: no DEI GRA means a 1911. The 1915 is the scarce circulation date of the group with a mintage of 1,172,258, while 1917 to 1920 are the easiest to find. Any 1921 deserves careful study, because genuine pieces are very rare and altered dates exist. As with earlier silver, look at the crown and leaf veins for wear and be wary of coins that shine too brightly, which usually means they were cleaned.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1912 |
| Circulation mintage | 5,863,170 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver) |
| Weight | 1.17 g |
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
What changed between the 1911 and 1912 five cents?
The legend. In 1911 it left out DEI GRA, the phrase by the grace of God. In 1912 the mint restored it, giving GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: around the portrait.
Why did the 1912 mintage jump so much?
Canada was growing fast before the First World War and needed more coins in circulation. The Ottawa mint struck 5,863,170 five cents, a record for the denomination at the time.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.