1922 Canadian Penny
The 1922 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 1.24 million made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1922
- Circulation mintage
- 1,243,635
- Value band
- Collector 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 1922 Canadian Penny worth?
With 1.24 million struck, the 1922 Canadian Penny ranks 11th lowest of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties we track. Collectors pay a collector premium even for worn examples. Sharp, uncirculated coins with no marks bring considerably more.
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 1922 Canadian Penny rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian pennies. With 1.24 million struck, the 1922 Canadian Penny ranks 11th lowest of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties we track.
- How many 1922 Canadian pennies were made?
- 1,243,635 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1922 Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc). It weighs 3.24 g and measures 19.05 mm.
- Is the 1922 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 1922 penny in context
With banks still full of 1920 and 1921 cents, the mint struck only 1,243,635 cents in 1922, a drop of more than eighty percent from the year before. This was the start of the five year slump that gives the George V small cent series its key dates. The 1922 sits at the beginning of that run and is usually described as a semi-key: scarce and sought after, but a step below the 1923 and 1925.
Low mintage coins from this era are especially hard to find in good condition because they circulated for decades. Small cents of the 1920s stayed in pocket change for a very long time and generations of collectors pulled them out to fill holes in their albums. The ones that were never saved simply wore down. That is why most surviving 1922 cents show heavy wear and why a coin with crisp leaf veins stands out. It belongs in any set of George V small cents and finding one in a jar of old coins is a good day for anyone sorting Canadian cents.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows George V's crowned bust by Bertram Mackennal with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: around it. The reverse has two maple leaves on a stem, ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and 1922 below. Size is 19.05 mm and weight 3.24 g. Check the date carefully, especially the last two digits. A worn 1932 can look similar at a glance, so read every digit in turn. Altered dates are a known risk for key small cents. On a genuine coin the digits match in style and spacing, with no scratches or tool marks in the field around them.
1922 Canadian Penny by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1922 Canadian Penny ranks 11th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1895 Canadian Penny (1.2 million); the next more common is the 1891 Canadian Penny (1.45 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 973 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 3 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1922 output was 6.1 times fewer than 1921 and 1.2 times the 1923 figure.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 61.7 million cents across 11 dates and varieties; the 1922 Canadian Penny accounts for 2.0% of that.
What to check on your 1922 Canadian Penny
- 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.
At about 1.2 million, the 1922 draws a collector premium in every grade. Worn examples are what most people find and a coin with clear leaf veins and a readable crown is a solid piece. Uncirculated coins are scarce and in strong demand. Because the date matters so much, it attracts altered coins made from more common dates. Look at the digits under magnification for scratches, uneven surfaces or a 2 that looks out of place. A grading service will confirm authenticity if you think you have a sharp example.
George V small cents, 1920 to 1936
In 1920 Canada replaced its big copper cent with a much smaller coin: 19.05 mm and 3.24 g, close in size to the cent used across the border. Some large cents dated 1920 were still struck before the change, so both sizes share the date. The small cent kept Mackennal's crowned George V and the corrected legend, but it got a new reverse with two maple leaves on a single stem, ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and the date below. The alloy stayed at 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc.
The new coin was produced in huge numbers at first: more than fifteen million small cents in 1920 and over seven million in 1921. That left plenty in stock and output collapsed for the next five years. The mintages for 1922 to 1926 run from about one million to two million, with 1923 and 1925 the lowest. Those years are the keys of the whole small cent series. Output recovered in the late 1920s, dipped again to about 2.5 million in 1930 as the Depression set in, then jumped past 21 million in 1932.
George V died in January 1936. Cents dated 1936 still carry his portrait, because Edward VIII's coins were never issued in Canada. Cents dated 1936 with a small dot below the date were struck in early 1937 while dies for George VI were not ready, yet only a few are known today. For anything from 1922 to 1926, check the date with a magnifier, since key dates attract altered coins. Wear shows first on the crown and the leaf veins.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1922 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,243,635 |
| Composition | Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 3.24 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
How many 1922 Canadian cents were made?
The records give 1,243,635 for circulation, a fraction of the 7.6 million struck in 1921. The drop came because the banks still had plenty of cents left over from 1920 and 1921.
Is the 1922 cent a key date?
It is usually called a semi-key. It is scarce and draws a collector premium, but the 1923 and 1925 have even lower mintages and are the true keys of the George V small cent series.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.