1920 Canadian Nickel
The 1920 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 10.6 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1920
- Circulation mintage
- 10,649,851
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- 80% silver, 20% copper
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 1920 Canadian Nickel worth?
The 1920 Canadian Nickel is a silver coin with 0.0301 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0301 times the day's silver spot price. With 10.6 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 1920 Canadian Nickel rare?
- Not by mintage. 10.6 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1920 Canadian nickels were made?
- 10,649,851 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1920 Canadian Nickel made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 1.17 g and measures 15.5 mm.
- Is the 1920 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 1920 nickel in context
The 1920 five cents marked a turning point. Silver prices rose steeply at the end of the First World War and Canada, like Britain, responded by cutting the silver content of its coins. From 1920 the five cents was struck in .800 silver instead of the .925 sterling used since 1858. The weight stayed about the same, but there was less silver in each piece. Britain went further and cut its own coins to .500 silver.
It was also the largest mintage of the small silver five cents by far: 10,649,851 coins. Demand for coins was high after the war and the mint had to keep up. Within two years, though, the tiny silver piece would be replaced by a large pure nickel coin, so 1920 is the last big year for the old design. It was the high point of a run of large orders that began in 1917 and lasted through the end of the war and beyond. The 1920 coins circulated for years after the switch to nickel, so worn pieces are easy to find.
How to recognize it
Nothing in the design shows the change of alloy. The obverse is the crowned George V by Mackennal, with GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse is the maple wreath and crown around 5 CENTS and the date. The coin weighs about 1.17 g. To tell a 1920 of lower silver from a 1919 of sterling you need the date, since the color and feel are nearly identical. Both are bright silver when fresh and tone to gray or gold over time. On a well preserved coin the crown jewels and the maple leaf veins are sharp and the fields are smooth.
1920 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1920 Canadian Nickel ranks 83rd lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1947 Maple Leaf Canadian Nickel (9.6 million); the next more common is the 1952 Canadian Nickel (10.9 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 26 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 53 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1920 output was 1.4 times the 1919 figure and 4.1 times the 1921 figure.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 40.1 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1920 Canadian Nickel accounts for 27% of that.
What to check on your 1920 Canadian Nickel
- Check the date first: silver Canadian nickels carry dates from 1858 to 1921; this one has 0.0301 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.
With more than ten million struck, the 1920 is the most common date in the silver five cents series and an easy coin to add to a collection. Worn examples hold a little more than face value thanks to their silver, while sharp coins attract more attention. Look for even wear and natural toning. Because the coin is common, a 1920 is a good place to practice grading: compare wear on the crown and leaves with pictures of graded examples before you tackle scarcer dates.
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 | 1920 |
| Circulation mintage | 10,649,851 |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 1.17 g |
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Why was the silver reduced in 1920?
Silver prices rose sharply after the First World War, so sterling coins were becoming too costly to make. Canada cut the fineness to .800 silver from 1920, keeping the coins' size and weight about the same.
Is the 1920 five cents worth more than face value?
It contains a small amount of silver, so worn coins hold a little more than face value. Coins in well preserved condition draw a small premium from collectors, more for coins with sharp detail.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.