Was looking for coins to add to my Canadian type set and found a coin I didn't realize existed before: a 92.5% silver, 15 mm Canadian 5 cent. I think it may be similar to the US standard for half dimes. Now I'm wondering how many coins I have to call a separate type... But here's the rough gist I have just for Canadian 5 cent coins: By materials: 1858-1919 92.5% silver 1920-1921 80% silver (most 1921 5 cents were melted down; surviving 1921 5 cents are very rare) 1922-1942 99.9% nickel 1942 "tombac" (looks like copper/brass) 1943 99.9% nickel 1944-1945 chromium-coated steel 1946-1981 99.9% nickel *1982-2001 75% copper, 25% nickel *2002-present nickel-coated steel (really more complicated than that as these materials overlap; 1999-2006 a "P" mark on the obverse indicates nickel-coated steel. 2002 to present, except for 2006 with a maple leaf mark on the obverse, are all nickel-coated steel.) By size and shape: 1858-1921 15 mm round 1922-1942 21.2 mm round 1943-1962 21.2 mm 12 sized 1963-present 21.2 mm round By monarch/portrait: 1858-1887 Victoria, 1st portrait 1888-1901 Victoria, 2nd portrait 1902-1910 Edward VII 1911-1936 George V 1937-1952 George VI (1937-1947 "Emp Ind."; 1947-1952 after independence of India that part is removed from the obverse legend, and "D. G." is spelled out as "Dei Gratia". 1947 without "Emp. Ind." were actually minted in 1948.) 1953-1964 Elizabeth II, 1st portrait 1965-1989 Elizabeth II, 2nd portrait 1990-2003 Elizabeth II, 3rd portrait 2003-2022 Elizabeth II, 4th portrait 2023-present Charles III Reverse design: 1858-1921 1922-1936 1937-1942 Beaver 1943-1945 Victory 1946-1950 Beaver, again 1951 200th anniversary of the discovery of nickel (nickel foundry) 1952-1966 Beaver again 1967 100th anniversary of confederation (rabbit) 1968-2005 Beaver again (1992 has the 1867-1992 date to indicate 125th anniversary of confederation). 2005 Victory, 60th anniversary 2006-present Beaver again (2017 has the 1867-2017 date to indicate 150th anniversary of confederation) This isn't including non-circulating commemoratives... And this is just 5 cents... Well this project is going to take a while lol, I don't even know how many types this adds up to. Depends on how nit-picky I am about what counts as a "type." Don't even get me started with quarters... they did many circulating commemoratives including multiple times with multiple designs the same year. Well this will be fun lol. If I got anything wrong or missed anything, let me know. Next goal is at least to get all the 1967 denominations finished (just need the lynx quarter and the goose dollar now).
My favorite of all those is the Tombac, with the beaver on the reverse and the 12-sided border. It has pride of place on my desk along with my birth year proof set. The fingerprint is unfortunate, but I only look at the nice side. Happy hunting!
Picked this little collection up from the remains of a couple closed Florida coin shops. Many of the best are in my SDB including the AU 1933. Enjoy @Mr. Flute
That one's definitely on my list (was dated 1942 or 1943). 1944-1945 were made of chromium-coated steel; 1946 they went back to almost pure nickel, as they stayed through 1981.
Minor correction: Canada only used one portrait of Queen Victoria from 1858-1901 on all of its coins.
