1938 Canadian Nickel

Quick answers

Is the 1938 Canadian Nickel rare?

No. 3.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.

How many 1938 Canadian nickels were made?

3,898,974 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1938 Canadian Nickel made of?

Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 4.54 g and measures 21.2 mm.

Is the 1938 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?

Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.

How to recognize it

The 1938 Canadian Nickel is round, 21.2 mm across and nickel (99.9%).

1938 Canadian Nickel by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 1938 Canadian Nickel ranks 52nd lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1934 Canadian Nickel (3.83 million); the next more common is the 1935 Canadian Nickel (3.9 million).

For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 71 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 19 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1938 output was 1.2 times fewer than 1937 and 1.5 times fewer than 1939.

Over the 1930s the Mint produced 40.9 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1938 Canadian Nickel accounts for 9.5% of that.

What to check on your 1938 Canadian Nickel

• Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1938 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.

George VI and the first beavers (1937 to 1941)

George V died in January 1936 and Edward VIII abdicated before any Canadian coins bore his portrait, so the next king on the nickel was George VI. His bare headed portrait by Thomas Humphrey Paget appeared in 1937, facing left, with a legend naming him king and Emperor of India. More importantly, 1937 brought a complete redesign of the reverses of Canada's coins. The five cents got the beaver by George Edward Kruger Gray, who also designed the maple twig on the cent.

The beaver sits on a rock with water around it, CANADA is above and 5 CENTS below. It is one of the most recognized Canadian coin designs and it is still used today. The coin itself stayed round and of pure nickel, 4.54 g and 21.2 mm across. Output rose with the economy and then jumped in 1940, when wartime spending pushed the mintage to almost 14 million.

These dates are common in circulated grades and a few million were struck in every year. Value comes from condition. Look at the beaver's back and tail and the fine lines of the water: on a well preserved coin they are crisp. Nickel coins of this period often have dull, slightly gray surfaces from decades in pockets, which is normal. Bright, polished coins have usually been cleaned and lose appeal to collectors.

Mintage chart

Specifications