Fun With Canada Cents

Well, living as close to the border as we do, and given my daughter's affection for coins with Queen Elizabeth on them, I knew it would only be a matter of time before she became interested in the Canada Cent folder that I bought last time we were in Toronto. It's a "Unisafe" folder which consists of pages made of soft plastic holders, kind of like what 2x2s are stored in, but much smaller-- a page holds 35 coins and there are 4 pages.

A few days ago, I came across a 1920 cent - the first of the Canada Small Cents - in the "bargain box" of cents in the local coin shop. It had a bad scratch near the rim, but I couldn't beat the price (too low to mention!). I didn't know when I picked it up for Thalia that it was the first in the small cent series, but I quickly discovered that when I got home.

From that point Thalia and I spent about an hour running through all of the Canada cents, from various trips over the last 15 years, to see what we-- er, she-- had. Augmenting that with what I had put away when I was a kid (harder since I lived in NJ and we didn't get that many of these in change) we got a great start.

After another stop at the "bargain box" Thalia already has clear through from 1960 to 2000, and I am sure that somewhere around here there is a 2001 and 2006 to finish the streak in the forward direction. She also grabbed dates in the 1940's and 1950's, including the 1947 "Maple Leaf" (an interesting story behind that coin told to us by one of the proprietors). (We're not worrying about the various sub-types, except for the '47 + '47ML).

Although the key dates in the 1920's will not be found in a "bargain bin" and chances are that the 1930's dates won't be either, this seems like a fun starter set for a six year old. Odds are that she'll be done long before Daddy gets the last space filled in that Lincoln Cent accumulation... the whole Canada Cent folder can probably be completed for less than the price of a 1931-S Wheat Cent in Good-4! :smile

And we are having fun, which is the important part. If you're looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary, especially with a young one, I recommend giving Canada Cents a try. :thumb:

Cheers,

 

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HI UMTRR-AUTHOR

From your post I not only learned about you daughter's affection for coins with Queen Elizabeth on them. But also that you take the time to share and communiate togeather. That is a wonderful quality that all parents should have. And it will only get better, you truly are a good parent GOD BLESS YOU .

 

- - ​

 

Umtrr-author,1920 was also the very last year in which Canada issued large 1c. coins.A key date to watch for in these is the 1911,as this is known as the 'Godless' 1c.,because 'DEI GRA' was omitted from King George V's title.

Aidan.

 

Uh, oops?

Thanks, Aidan. Thalia does have a 1900 Large Canada Cent. (She was born in 2000, 1900 coins are "100 years older than I am," she says, so there you go.)

I'll have to look for that 1911 Cent. It would be interesting to see, at least!

Thanks for the kind words, Bruce. We certainly try.

 

umtrr, pm me your address and I will send you a 1911 Canadian large cent for your daughter. I have several extras.

 

I just finished my Canadian small cent collection as I've mentioned in other posts. I have a couple of extra cent coins from the 20's and 30's that I was going to put on ebay eventually. The 1922-1926 coins are the hard ones to find. Let me know which ones you don't have yet.
I also purchased the same coin folder with enough extra room for collecting future Canadian coins. I'm not crazy about the plastic and I hope it won't adversely affect the coins.

 

Moen1305,the coins from 2001 onwards have a letter 'P' located on the obverse.This is not a mintmark,but it does indicate that the coins' composition is of plated metal.There are 2001 coins that were struck in the old non-plated metals as well.These are worth looking out for.

Aidan.

 

Canadian coins are a little tough to find stateside. You do come across them from time to time but finding any rare ones is pretty unlikely.

 

Jim, thank you from Thalia for the coin and the extra surprise!

And a progress update: Thalia's grandfather added a 1937 to the collection. He was very impressed when he saw how far Thalia has gotten with the set so far.

 

There's an article in the most recent CW that this (the 'P' - which the RCM calls a mintmark, but it's not a mintmark as numismatists understand the term) has been changed. The first new examples are apparently coming out (I don't have my CW in front of me) in mint sets (?) now.

 

According to government of Canada, the new 'mintmark' will be more of a corporate logo that will be on the 2006 toonie this year (10th year anniversary)...i.e. the RCM stylized 'M' and maple leaf logo


http://www.isobelandco.com/catalog/images/mint-logoB.jpg


Have yet to see any 2006 $2 though and unsure if that mintmark will appear on all coinage in the future.



http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partII/2006/20060208/html/sor19-e.html

 

Interesting. Maybe we'll come across a toonie when we next get "North of the Border."

Meanwhile, we stopped by the local coin dealer that loves kids and found that they put a nice new stash of Canada Cents in the "treasure box." Thalia filled in a few more dates... bought them herself in fact! (And got a Liberty Head nickel as part of her "special change"... did I mention that they love kids?)

She's now complete from 1945 to 2000 including both versions of the 1947 (plain and ML / Maple Leaf). I stashed a 2006 away that I need to find, and I know there has to be a 2001 cent around this house somewhere!!! That will make her "done" for 61 consecutive years of Canada Cents.

And then the real work starts... the 20's and 30's are more challenging. But this is so much fun!

 

Umtrr-author,don't forget about the 1947 Canadian 1c. with the maple leaf after the date.This indicates that
this is from the emergency coinage that was struck in 1948.You will not find the 1936 1c. with the dot under the date,as there are only 5 known specimens that have been confirmed.

Ertw,which branch of the Royal Canadian Mint will be using the new mintmark? Is it Winnipeg,Ottawa,or is it the Hull,Quebec satellite mint?

Aidan.

 

The logo will actually replace the "P", so the the new mark will be on any coin that is made from the plated steel. There is also an article in the "Canadian Coin News" June 27 to July 10, 2006 issue. The new mark will be unveiled at the CNA convention in Niagra Falls Ontario on July 20-23.

 

Defiant7,that's very interesting to know.I've seen the mark shown on the plush cases of the Proof sets.

Aidan.

 

Aidan, yes, we have both the '47 and the '47 ML now. We were told the story by the local coin dealer that has the "bargain box" for the kids.

Other than that, I figured that we'd stay clear of the different varieties, at least for now-- since we are talking about a six year old here. But that "P" and no "P" on the recent issues does seem intriguing.

I am hoping to get to the CNA (just 75 miles to the west of us) so I might get to see that new mark in person, and perhaps bring home an example for Thalia.

 

i have a 2001 10 cents, with a letter 'p', and yep it's metal, can you tell me more on whats the difference between one plated on metal and one non-plated on metal?

 

I opened a roll of pennies the other day and they were all 1930 - 1950 canadian cents... and one of them was the 1947 maple leaf you were talking about... what's the story behind this??? The other 1947s don't have them!

 

Before 1948 Canadian coins contained the words "et ind imp" identifying King George VI as emperor of India. In 1948 India gained its independance so the phrase had to be removed. Coins with the date 1947 having the small maple leaf by the date were actually minted in 1948 befroe the dies were changed to omit the "et ind imp".Coins with the date 1948 were eventually produced but because they only represent part of the total mintage for that year they are somewhat more rare than most other years.

Bill