1937 Canadian Penny
The 1937 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 10 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1937
- Circulation mintage
- 10,040,231
- 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 1937 Canadian Penny worth?
With 10 million made, the 1937 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 1937 Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 10 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1937 Canadian pennies were made?
- 10,040,231 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1937 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 1937 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 1937 penny in context
The 1937 cent brought the biggest design change in decades. George VI became king after his brother's abdication in December 1936 and was crowned in May 1937. His Canadian coins introduced a new portrait along with completely new reverse designs for every denomination from the cent to the fifty cent piece. A total of 10,040,231 cents were struck in the first year, a little more than the final George V run of 1936.
The cent's new reverse, by George Kruger Gray, showed a maple twig with two leaves. It became one of the longest running designs in Canadian coinage, used on the cent from 1937 until production ended in 2012, apart from the centennial year of 1967. That gives the 1937 a special place: it is the first coin of a design that stayed in Canadian pockets for three quarters of a century. The 1937 itself is not scarce, but it is a natural first coin for anyone collecting the maple twig cent from start to finish. Production climbed quickly after this, passing 21 million in 1939 before wartime demand took over.
How to recognize it
Thomas Humphrey Paget's bare-headed portrait of George VI faces left, with GEORGIVS VI D:G: REX ET IND:IMP: around it. The reverse shows George Kruger Gray's maple twig with two leaves, with CANADA, the denomination 1 CENT and the date 1937 arranged around it. On a scale, a 1937 cent should read about 3.24 g, with a diameter of 19.05 mm. The king's portrait has no crown, which separates it at a glance from George V's coins. Check the legend for ET IND:IMP:, which tells you it is an early George VI cent from 1937 to 1947 and not one of the later issues with the shorter wording.
1937 Canadian Penny by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1937 Canadian Penny ranks 53rd lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 2007 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny (9.63 million); the next more common is the 1916 Canadian Penny (11 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 120 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 24 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1937 output was 1.1 times the 1936 figure and 1.8 times fewer than 1938.
Over the 1930s the Mint produced 113.1 million cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1937 Canadian Penny accounts for 8.9% of that.
What to check on your 1937 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.
At about ten million, the 1937 is a common date. Worn coins are close to face value with a small premium for age, while sharp and uncirculated coins draw more interest. Red uncirculated coins from the first year are popular with type collectors and with anyone building a maple twig set. Because the design ran so long, a first year coin in nice condition has a certain appeal beyond its numbers. Look for an original surface with clear leaf veins and no signs of cleaning.
George VI cents and the maple twig, 1937 to 1952
Edward VIII abdicated in December 1936 before any Canadian coins bearing his portrait were issued, so the next new portrait belonged to George VI. His cents, first dated 1937, paired a bare-headed effigy by Thomas Humphrey Paget with an all new reverse by George Kruger Gray: a maple twig with two leaves, along with CANADA, 1 CENT and the date. That twig went on to serve for seventy five years, staying on the cent until 2012 apart from the centennial year. The early legend reads GEORGIVS VI D:G: REX ET IND:IMP:.
The Second World War sent demand soaring. Mintages went from about 21.6 million in 1939 to almost 86 million in 1940 and 1943 reached about 89 million. Tin was needed for the war effort, so from 1942 the alloy dropped to 0.5% tin with 98% copper and 1.5% zinc. After India gained independence in 1947, the words ET IND:IMP: had to go. New dies were not ready, so in 1948 the mint kept striking coins with the 1947 date and added a small maple leaf after it. Cents dated 1948 onward read GEORGIVS VI DEI GRATIA REX.
Most cents from these years are common, a natural result of the wartime totals. What matters is the detail. Check 1947 coins for the leaf after the date and read the legend to tell early and late portraits apart. George VI died in February 1952, but cents dated 1952 still carry his portrait. Wear shows on the king's hair above the ear and on the veins of the two leaves. Red coins from bank rolls exist for many of these dates and collectors prefer them to the usual brown.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1937 |
| Circulation mintage | 10,040,231 |
| 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
Who designed the maple leaf on the Canadian penny?
George Kruger Gray designed the maple twig reverse first used on the 1937 cent. It stayed on the cent until 2012, except in 1967, when Alex Colville's centennial rock dove replaced it for one year.
How many 1937 Canadian cents were made?
The records give 10,040,231 for circulation. It was the first year of George VI's portrait and the new maple twig reverse and production rose quickly in the years that followed.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.