1922 Canadian Nickel
The 1922 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 4.76 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1922
- Circulation mintage
- 4,763,186
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Nickel (99.9%)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1922 Canadian Nickel worth?
With 4.76 million made, the 1922 Canadian Nickel is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins with full luster, recognized varieties and genuine errors interest collectors.
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 1922 Canadian Nickel rare?
- No. 4.76 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1922 Canadian nickels were made?
- 4,763,186 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1922 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 4.54 g and measures 21.2 mm.
- Is the 1922 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.
The 1922 nickel in context
The 1922 is the first true Canadian nickel. For more than sixty years the five cents had been a tiny silver coin that slipped through fingers and pockets with ease. By the early 1920s silver had grown expensive, the public found the coin awkward and Canada was one of the world's great producers of nickel, much of it mined around Sudbury in Ontario. Switching to a large coin made of a homegrown metal solved all three problems at once.
The Ottawa mint struck 4,763,186 of the new coins in 1922. They went into circulation alongside the remaining silver five cents, which stayed legal but slowly disappeared from use. The size and color of the new piece made it instantly familiar to anyone who had handled the American five cents and Canadians quickly began calling it the nickel too. The name has stuck ever since, through every later change of metal. That makes 1922 a natural starting point for anyone collecting the large five cents and the date is reasonably easy to find in worn condition.
How to recognize it
The obverse carries Sir Bertram Mackennal's crowned portrait of George V with the full legend GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:, the same effigy used on the silver coins. The reverse was new and very plain: CANADA across the top, 5 CENTS in the center and the date at the bottom, with a maple leaf on either side of the value. The coin is pure nickel, round, 21.2 mm across and 4.54 g. That is about four times the weight of the old silver piece. Nickel is hard and wears slowly, which is part of why it was chosen.
1922 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1922 Canadian Nickel ranks 59th lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1937 Canadian Nickel (4.59 million); the next more common is the 1931 Canadian Nickel (5.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 58 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 24 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1922 output was 1.8 times the 1921 figure and 1.9 times the 1923 figure.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 40.1 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1922 Canadian Nickel accounts for 12% of that.
What to check on your 1922 Canadian Nickel
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1922 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- 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.
Most 1922 nickels are well worn, since they stayed in circulation for decades. Collectors look for coins with clear detail in the king's crown and a sharp outline on the maple leaves. Pure nickel is magnetic, so a 1922 will cling to a magnet; that is normal and a quick way to tell it from later cupronickel coins. Corrosion and dark spots are common, so a clean, even surface is worth seeking out. Specialists also study small die differences on this first year, but for most people a clear date and good surfaces are what count.
George V large nickel five cents (1922 to 1936)
In 1922 Canada dropped the fiddly silver piece and adopted a large five cent coin in pure nickel, much like the coin its neighbor to the south already used. The choice made sense: Canada was one of the world's great nickel producers, the metal was durable and a coin of 4.54 g on a 21.2 mm round flan was hard to lose. It also gave the denomination the name most Canadians still use: the nickel.
The obverse kept Mackennal's crowned portrait of George V with the full legend that includes DEI GRA. The reverse was new and simple: CANADA above, 5 CENTS in the middle and the date below, with two maple leaves flanking the value. The design stayed in use until 1936. Mintages ran from around two to five million in most years, but output dropped hard in the middle of the decade, with only 200,050 coins dated 1925 and 933,577 dated 1926.
The 1925 is the key date of every Canadian nickel ever struck and the 1926 is the semi key, with a near 6 and far 6 variety to check. The early 1920s dates are also worth a second look in sharp condition. Nickel is hard, so these coins often show long, smooth wear rather than scratches. A clear date matters most, because worn dates can make a common year look like a rare one. Pure nickel coins are attracted to a magnet, which is normal for this period.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1922 |
| Circulation mintage | 4,763,186 |
| Composition | Nickel (99.9%) |
| Weight | 4.54 g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Why did Canada switch to a nickel five cents in 1922?
The small silver coin was easy to lose and silver had become expensive. Canada had large nickel mines, so a larger coin in pure nickel was cheaper, sturdier and used a Canadian metal. The change also matched the familiar American coin.
Does a 1922 nickel stick to a magnet?
It should. Pure nickel is magnetic, so a 1922 will cling to a magnet. The tombac coins of 1942 and 1943 and the cupronickel coins of 1982 to 1999 do not, which makes a magnet a handy sorting tool.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.