1924 Canadian Nickel
The 1924 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 3.07 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1924
- Circulation mintage
- 3,066,658
- 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 1924 Canadian Nickel worth?
With 3.07 million made, the 1924 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 1924 Canadian Nickel rare?
- No. 3.07 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1924 Canadian nickels were made?
- 3,066,658 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1924 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 4.54 g and measures 21.2 mm.
- Is the 1924 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.
The 1924 nickel in context
The mint struck 3,066,658 nickels dated 1924, up from 1923 but still well short of the launch year. It was the third year of the large nickel and the coin was now firmly part of daily life. The old silver five cents were fading from circulation as they wore out or were withdrawn and the bigger coin took their place in tills and pockets across the country. The mint was settling into a steady rhythm with the new coin.
What came next makes 1924 more interesting in hindsight. The following year the mintage collapsed to just 200,050, the lowest of any Canadian nickel. The 1924 is therefore the last ordinary date before the key and the two sit side by side in every album. The jump from a solid three million to a couple of hundred thousand shows how much the yearly orders depended on how many coins the government thought it needed, rather than any change to the coin itself. A healthy supply from 1922 to 1924 was clearly part of the reason the 1925 order could be so small.
How to recognize it
Nothing changed on the coin. The obverse has George V crowned and robed by Mackennal, with GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse keeps CANADA, 5 CENTS between two maple leaves and the date at the bottom. It is round, pure nickel, 21.2 mm and 4.54 g. On a well preserved coin the jewels of the crown are clear and the veins of each maple leaf stand up from the field. The 4 in the date is open and angular, very different from the curves of a 5. The coin is gray when worn and has a soft luster when well preserved.
1924 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1924 Canadian Nickel ranks 45th lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1899 Canadian Nickel (3 million); the next more common is the 1906 Canadian Nickel (3.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 91 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 15 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1924 output was 1.2 times the 1923 figure and 15 times the 1925 figure.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 40.1 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1924 Canadian Nickel accounts for 7.6% of that.
What to check on your 1924 Canadian Nickel
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1924 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.
The 1924 is a moderately common date in circulated grades. Like the other early George V nickels, it was used hard and many survivors are dark, worn or spotted. Choose a coin where the date and the leaves are crisp. Because it sits next to the key date in a set, collectors often buy the two together in matching condition. Hold the coin at an angle under a lamp to check for small scratches across the king's face, which are common on these early nickels and lower their appeal.
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 | 1924 |
| Circulation mintage | 3,066,658 |
| Composition | Nickel (99.9%) |
| Weight | 4.54 g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
How many 1924 nickels were made?
The Ottawa mint struck 3,066,658. That is more than 1923 but fewer than 1922 and many times more than the 200,050 coins dated 1925 that came next in the year that followed.
Why are so many 1924 nickels dark or spotted?
Nickel reacts slowly with moisture and the air. Coins kept in damp drawers or jars often develop dark gray toning or small spots. That is normal for the age, but clean, even surfaces are more appealing.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.