I know Canada held on to silver in their circualting nickels, dimes, quarters, and half dollars than the US... anyone know specifically when they stopped making silver ones and started minting clad ones?
Canada stopped using silver in the 5 cent coin in 1921, for dimes and quarters mid 1968 and for halfs and dollars 1967. Canada did not really produce a clad coin until 1999. Most of Canada's coins were pure nickel or an alloy after silver was no longer used.
Silver Content For Canadian Dollars and 50cent coins dated 1967 and prior, dimes and quarters 1966 and prior, the purity of silver is 80% Dimes and Quarters dated 1967 were produced with both 80% and 50% purity, with about half of each being minted. In 1968, for the first part of the year, dimes and quarters contained 50% silver, being replaced by pure nickel coinage for the remainder.
The finenesses of the 1967 10c. & 25c. coins can be distinguished.Drop a coin gently on a wooden table top.If it has a bell-like ringing sound,then it is a .800 fine coin.The other way is by looking at worn examples of these coins.The .800 fine ones have a very whitish appearance. Aidan.
That is something I've noticed before but never thought about why until now, lol, but the one thing that always drew my notice to a Canadaian coin I found, even before seeing the devices, that the metal just didn't look like an American coin of the same denomination, it looked more like a solid metal appearance. Which of course it is... just hadn't thought about it much I guess untill I started examining more Canadian coins. My grandmother had a bunch of older ones in her collection (mostly 40's thru 60's, with a few older and newer) that I've put in with my collection of more recent ones.
A better way to tell the difference is just to use a magnet. The silver coins are not attracted to it, the others are. In 1968 the dime was made both in Ottawa (silver) and in Philadelphia (nickle). There are no mintmarks, but you can determine the mint based on the reeding. One is has square reeding, and the other has angled reeding. Don't remember which is which but I think its in Krause catalog. But the easiest is just with a magnet.
