1936 Canadian Penny
The 1936 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 8.77 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1936
- Circulation mintage
- 8,768,769
- Value band
- Face value
- 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 1936 Canadian Penny worth?
With 8.77 million made, the 1936 Canadian Penny is common. A circulated one is worth face value. The cent is still legal tender even though the Mint stopped issuing it in 2013. Only coins with full original red color, a recognized variety or a genuine error interest collectors.
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 1936 Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 8.77 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1936 Canadian pennies were made?
- 8,768,769 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1936 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 1936 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 1936 penny in context
The ordinary 1936 cent is common: 8,768,769 were struck with George V's portrait. The king died in January 1936. His son became Edward VIII but abdicated in December before any Canadian coins bearing his portrait were issued, so George V's effigy stayed on the cent through the whole year.
The famous version is the 1936 dot cent. When 1937 began, dies with George VI's portrait were not ready, yet the mint still needed to make coins. It struck cents with the old 1936 dies, adding a small dot below the date to show they were made in 1937. Only a few are known and none were issued normally. The dot cent is one of the great rarities of Canadian coinage and a coin almost nobody will ever handle. If you find a 1936 cent with a mark below the date, it is far more likely to be damage or a later addition than the real thing, though it is still worth having it checked by someone who knows the series well.
How to recognize it
The king on the 1936 cent is Bertram Mackennal's crowned George V, with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: around him. The reverse has two maple leaves on a stem, ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and 1936 below. The 1936 cent weighs 3.24 g on a 19.05 mm flan. On the dot cent, a small raised dot sits below the date. Any mark there should be raised, not a dent and should look like part of the original strike. Damage, a spot of corrosion or a dot added later are all far more common than a genuine dot coin, so treat a find with healthy skepticism.
1936 Canadian Penny by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1936 Canadian Penny ranks 49th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1921 Canadian Penny (7.6 million); the next more common is the 1928 Canadian Penny (9.14 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 138 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 21 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1936 output was 1.2 times the 1935 figure and 1.1 times fewer than 1937.
Over the 1930s the Mint produced 113.1 million cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1936 Canadian Penny accounts for 7.8% of that.
What to check on your 1936 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.
The regular 1936 is common and worn coins trade for a small premium at most. Sharp and uncirculated coins draw more interest and the 1936 is the last George V cent, which gives it some appeal as a type coin. The dot cent is a significant rarity and almost never offered. If you think you have one, don't clean it and don't poke at the dot. Take it to a grading service or an experienced dealer for authentication. Fakes made by adding a dot to a common 1936 are a known risk.
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 | 1936 |
| Circulation mintage | 8,768,769 |
| 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
What is the 1936 dot cent?
A 1936 cent struck in early 1937 with a small dot below the date, made while George VI dies were not yet ready. Only a few are known and none were issued normally, making it a significant rarity.
Is a 1936 Canadian cent rare?
The regular 1936 is common, with over 8.7 million struck. Only the dot variety is rare. If yours has a mark below the date, have it authenticated, since damage and added dots are far more common.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.