1981 Round Canadian Penny
The 1981 Round Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 1.21 billion made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1981
- Circulation mintage
- 1,209,468,500
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% 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 1981 Round Canadian Penny worth?
With 1.21 billion made, the 1981 Round 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:
- Full original red color
- A recognized variety or a genuine mint error
- Coins from a specimen or proof set
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 1.21 billion were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1981 Round Canadian pennies were made?
- 1,209,468,500 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc). It weighs 2.8 g and measures 19 mm.
- Is the 1981 Round 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 1981 penny in context
The 1981 is the last round bronze cent before the 12-sided coin arrived. It was also produced in record numbers: 1,209,468,500 coins, the highest cent mintage in Canadian records. The late 1970s and early 1980s were a time of high inflation and rising copper prices and the mint struck enormous numbers of cents to keep up with demand.
Cost pressure was already reshaping the coin. In 1980 it was made thinner, dropping from 3.24 g to 2.8 g and the 1981 kept that lighter weight. The next step came in 1982, when the cent became 12-sided at 2.5 g. That makes the 1981 the end of a line that began with the small cent of 1920: round, bronze and the familiar size. Some collectors keep a 1981 and a 1982 side by side to show the shape change. With so many coins struck, the 1981 is one of the most common dates of the whole series and you will still find it in coin jars and old rolls today, often next to the 12-sided coins that replaced it.
How to recognize it
Arnold Machin's portrait of the queen wearing a tiara faces right with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse is Kruger Gray's maple twig with CANADA, 1 CENT and 1981. The coin is round and weighs 2.8 g. The alloy is 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc. Compared with a 1979 cent at 3.24 g, the 1981 is noticeably thinner, though the diameter is about the same. A scale that reads to a tenth of a gram can tell them apart, which is handy when a jar of mixed cents needs sorting. The round shape separates it from the 12-sided cents that followed.
1981 Round Canadian Penny by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1981 Round Canadian Penny is the most common of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1999 Canadian Penny (1.09 billion).
Compared with the dates around it, the 1981 output was 1.3 times the 1980 figure and 1.3 times the 1982 figure.
Over the 1980s the Mint produced 8.69 billion cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1981 Round Canadian Penny accounts for 14% of that.
What to check on your 1981 Round Canadian Penny
- Confirm the variety: round. 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.
With more than 1.2 billion struck, the 1981 is one of the most common Canadian cents and worn coins are face value. Uncirculated red coins draw a small premium at most. Its interest is as a transition coin: the last round cent of the bronze era before the 12-sided shape. If you are building a type set, a 1981 in nice condition covers the thin round cent of 1980 and 1981. Look for full red color and clean surfaces, which are easy to find given the mintage.
Tiara portrait, centennial dove and 12-sided cents, 1965 to 1989
In 1965 Arnold Machin's portrait replaced Gillick's. The queen now wears a tiara and the legend is shortened to ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The first year produced well known varieties: the beads around the rim come in large and small sizes and specialists also sort the date by a pointed or blunt 5. For 1967 alone, Canada's centennial, Alex Colville's rock dove in flight replaced the maple twig, with the dates 1867 and 1967. The twig returned in 1968.
The cent changed physically several times in this period as copper prices rose. In 1978 the alloy became 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc. In 1980 the coin was made thinner, dropping from 3.24 g to 2.8 g. In 1982 it became 12-sided at 2.5 g, a shape that also makes the cent easy to tell apart by touch. Production reached levels never seen before: 1981 topped 1.2 billion coins, the highest cent mintage in Canadian records. Most years of the 1970s and 1980s ran well into the hundreds of millions.
Nearly every coin in this group is common, so the interesting ones are about design and variety. Check 1965 coins for bead size, keep 1967 doves aside as a one year design and notice the shape: round to 1981, 12-sided from 1982. Weight helps with 1979 to 1981, since the lighter 1980 and 1981 coins are thinner. Worn coins are face value. Bright red uncirculated coins draw a small premium at most and the strongest interest goes to recognized varieties.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1981 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,209,468,500 |
| Composition | Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc) |
| Weight | 2.8 g |
| Diameter | 19 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
What was the highest mintage year for the Canadian cent?
By the records, 1981, with 1,209,468,500 struck. It was the last round bronze cent before the 12-sided coin of 1982 and the huge numbers make it one of the most common dates.
Is the 1981 cent the same weight as earlier cents?
No. The 1980 and 1981 cents weigh 2.8 g, down from 3.24 g in 1979. They are thinner but about the same diameter. The 12-sided cent of 1982 dropped the weight again to 2.5 g.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.