1920 Large Canadian Penny
The 1920 Large Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 6.76 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1920
- Circulation mintage
- 6,762,247
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc)
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 1920 Large Canadian Penny worth?
A large cent from 1920 is old enough that collectors want it in any condition. Worn, dark coins bring a small premium; coins with clear detail in the hair and leaves bring much more. Any with original red color are in a class of their own.
What would make yours worth more:
- Original red color rather than brown
- Sharp detail in the portrait and leaves
- 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 Large Canadian Penny rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian pennies. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 1920 Large Canadian pennies were made?
- 6,762,247 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1920 Large Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc). It weighs 5.67 g and measures 25.4 mm.
- Is the 1920 Large Canadian Penny still legal tender?
- Yes. The Royal Canadian Mint stopped distributing cents in 2013, but they remain legal tender. Cash payments are rounded to the nearest five cents, so most pennies now sit in jars or go to banks.
The 1920 penny in context
The 1920 large cent is the last of a line that began in 1858. By the end of the First World War, the old 25.4 mm coin was using a lot of copper at a time when metal costs had risen sharply. Canada decided to follow its neighbor and adopt a much smaller cent, but production of the big coin continued for part of 1920 before the switch. A total of 6,762,247 large cents carry the date.
That makes 1920 one of the few years with two sizes of the same denomination and the large version is the one that closes the chapter. It is not rare. The figure is lower than the wartime runs of 1916 to 1919 but still high by earlier standards. Its appeal is historical: this is the final year of a coin that had been part of Canadian life for over sixty years. Many collectors like to keep a 1920 large and a 1920 small together, since the pair shows the change better than any written explanation can.
How to recognize it
George V's crowned bust by Bertram Mackennal is on the obverse, with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: around it. The reverse is the classic large cent design: ONE CENT and 1920 inside a beaded circle, with a vine of maple leaves around the rim. The coin is 25.4 mm across and weighs 5.67 g, so it is instantly different from the small cent of the same year, which is just 19.05 mm. There is no mint mark. If you are unsure about a worn date, the size alone will tell you whether it is a large cent and the legend confirms the reign.
1920 Large Canadian Penny by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1920 Large Canadian Penny ranks 45th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1913 Canadian Penny (5.74 million); the next more common is the 1934 Canadian Penny (7.04 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 179 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 16 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1920 output was 1.7 times fewer than 1919 and 1.1 times fewer than 1921. Other 1920 cents: 1920 Small Canadian Penny (15.5 million).
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 61.7 million cents across 11 dates and varieties; the 1920 Large Canadian Penny accounts for 11% of that.
What to check on your 1920 Large Canadian Penny
- Confirm the variety: large cent. Use a magnifier and compare with a reference picture before you assume you have the scarcer one.
- Check the color. Collectors describe copper cents as red, red-brown or brown; original red color is worth far more than toned or dull surfaces.
- Never clean it. Rubbing, polishing or dipping leaves fine scratches and an unnatural color that collectors spot at once.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the lettering. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older cents.
With about 6.8 million struck, the 1920 large cent is common in worn grades and trades for a small premium. Sharp coins with clear leaves and crown detail draw more interest and uncirculated examples with red color are much scarcer than the mintage suggests. The last year status gives it extra appeal for type collectors. Look for even, natural color. Corrosion and dark spots are common problems on large cents and they cut interest more than honest wear does. A coin with full rims and no edge knocks is the one to keep.
George V large cents, 1911 to 1920
George V's crowned portrait by Bertram Mackennal first appeared on Canadian coins dated 1911 and it started with a controversy. The legend read GEORGIVS V REX ET IND: IMP:, leaving out DEI GRA:, the reference to ruling by the grace of God. Many Canadians objected to what the newspapers called Godless coins and from 1912 the legend was corrected to GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The 1911 cent is the only large cent with the short legend, which makes it easy to check.
The coin kept its old dimensions of 25.4 mm and 5.67 g, with ONE CENT and the date inside the maple vine. The First World War changed the numbers. Mintages that had been three to six million a year before the war jumped to more than eleven million in each year from 1916 to 1919, with 1918 the highest at nearly thirteen million. Rising copper costs and the sheer bulk of the coin made a smaller cent attractive and in 1920 Canada switched to a 19.05 mm cent close in size to the American one.
Cents dated 1920 come in both sizes and the large ones are the last of their kind. For everything in this period, start with two checks: the legend on 1911 coins and the size on 1920 coins. Most dates are common in worn condition, especially the wartime years. Look for natural brown color and clear detail in the crown and the maple leaves. Coins that have spent decades in jars often carry dark spots or green verdigris and those lower collector interest more than ordinary wear does.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1920 |
| Circulation mintage | 6,762,247 |
| Composition | Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 5.67 g |
| Diameter | 25.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 1920 Canadian pennies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 Small Canadian Penny | 15,483,923 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why are there two sizes of 1920 Canadian cents?
Canada replaced its large cent with a smaller one in 1920. The mint struck large cents for part of the year before switching, so both sizes carry the 1920 date. The large one is 25.4 mm and the small one 19.05 mm.
Is the 1920 large cent rare?
No. About 6.8 million were struck, so worn examples are easy to find. Its appeal is that it is the last Canadian large cent and uncirculated coins with original red color draw the most interest.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.