2002 P Canadian Penny
The 2002 P Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 114.2 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2002
- Circulation mintage
- 114,212,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating)
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 2002 P Canadian Penny worth?
With 114.2 million made, the 2002 P 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 2002 P Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 114.2 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2002 P Canadian pennies were made?
- 114,212,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2002 P Canadian Penny made of?
- Copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating). It weighs 2.35 g and measures 19.05 mm.
- Is the 2002 P 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 2002 penny in context
Cents dated 2002 with a small P are the first plated steel cents to reach circulation in Canada. The P stands for plated: a steel core with a copper coating, weighing 2.35 g. Steel was cheaper than zinc and the Royal Canadian Mint had developed its own plating process to make coins this way. A total of 114,212,000 P cents were struck, a small share of the year next to the 716,366,000 zinc cents without the mark.
The year itself was special. All of Canada's 2002 circulation coins carried the double date 1952-2002 for the Golden Jubilee, fifty years since the queen came to the throne, so the first steel cent also carries a commemorative date. That gives the 2002-P two reasons to set one aside: it starts the plated steel era and it marks the jubilee. Steel and zinc cents were made alongside each other for the next ten years, until production of the cent stopped altogether in 2012. If you sort old cents, the 2002-P is the earliest circulation cent a magnet will pick up, which makes it an easy first find in any magnet hunt through a jar.
How to recognize it
Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen faces right with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA and a small P below the portrait. The reverse is Kruger Gray's maple twig with CANADA, 1 CENT and the double date 1952-2002. The coin is round and weighs 2.35 g. Hold a fridge magnet to it: a P cent will cling, while a zinc cent of the same year will not react at all. The P can be small and soft on a worn coin, so the magnet is the quickest check before you reach for a magnifier. The crowned portrait also rules out the later P coins, which show the queen bareheaded.
2002 P Canadian Penny by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2002 P Canadian Penny ranks 94th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 2012 Magnetic Canadian Penny (111.4 million); the next more common is the 2004 P Canadian Penny (134.9 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 11 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 271 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2002 output was 8 times fewer than 2001 and 1.2 times the 2003 figure. Other 2002 cents: 2002 Canadian Penny (716.4 million).
Over the 2000s the Mint produced 8.29 billion cents across 19 dates and varieties; the 2002 P Canadian Penny accounts for 1.4% of that.
What to check on your 2002 P Canadian Penny
- Try a magnet: a genuine 2002 P Canadian Penny is plated steel and sticks to it.
- Confirm the variety: P mark (plated steel). 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; bright original 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.
Over a hundred million were struck, so worn 2002-P cents are face value, but the mintage is far lower than the zinc version of the same year. Uncirculated red coins draw a small premium, helped by the jubilee date and the first year status. Steel cents can rust where the plating is scratched or worn through, so look for an even copper surface with no brown or orange spots. For a type set of the plated steel era, the 2002-P is the natural first coin. Keep it dry and away from other metal to protect the plating.
Crowned and uncrowned portraits, 1990 to 2003
Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen arrived in 1990, making her the first Canadian artist to design the royal effigy for Canada's coins. In 1992 cents carried the double date 1867-1992 for the 125th anniversary of Confederation. The 12-sided shape ended after 1996. From 1997 the cent was round again and made of zinc with a thin copper plating, 2.25 g, as the price of copper made a solid bronze coin too costly. Cents dated 2002 carry 1952-2002 for the Golden Jubilee of the queen's accession.
Copper-plated steel arrived on circulation cents dated 2002. These are marked with a small P for plated and weigh 2.35 g and for several years zinc and steel coins were made side by side. In 2003, fifty years after the coronation, Susanna Blunt's portrait replaced de Pédery-Hunt's. It shows the queen without a crown and it stayed on the cent until production ended. That gives 2003 four distinct types: crowned without a P, crowned with a P, uncrowned without a P and uncrowned with a P.
The useful checks here are the portrait, the shape and a magnet. A 12-sided coin is from 1996 or earlier. A P under the portrait means plated steel and a fridge magnet will pick those up while zinc cents ignore it. On 2003 coins, look at the queen's head first: a crown or bare hair tells you which portrait you have. Mintages are huge, apart from a few short runs in 2003, so almost every coin here is face value unless it is a variety in sharp condition.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2002 |
| Circulation mintage | 114,212,000 |
| Composition | Copper-plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating) |
| Weight | 2.35 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 2002 Canadian pennies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 Canadian Penny | 716,366,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What does the P on a Canadian penny mean?
It means plated. Cents marked P have a steel core with a copper plating, weighing 2.35 g and they stick to a magnet. The P first appeared on circulation cents dated 2002.
Why do 2002 Canadian cents say 1952-2002?
All Canadian circulation coins dated 2002 carried the double date 1952-2002 for the queen's Golden Jubilee, marking fifty years since she came to the throne. Both the zinc and the plated steel cents have it.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.