The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. The denomination was introduced in 1858 as a small, thin sterling silver coin colloquially known as a "fish scale"; the present larger base metal version was introduced in 1922.

History

The first Canadian five-cent coins were struck by the Royal Mint in London as part of the introductory 1858 coinage of the Province of Canada. The coins were the same size and general composition as the corresponding American coins of the time, so the five-cent coin was based on the half dime. Although the American denomination changed to a much larger copper-nickel coin in 1866, the Canadian five-cent coins remained small and silver until 1921.

All Canadian coins (including five-cent coins) were struck in England at the Royal Mint (no mint mark) and the Birmingham Mint (H mint mark) until 1908, when the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint opened. With the exception of some 1967 dimes struck at the Philadephia Mint, all Canadian coins since 1908 have been minted in Canada.

Due to a rise in the price of silver, Canadian coinage was debased from sterling silver (925 fine) to 800 fine in 1920. In 1922, silver was removed entirely from the five-cent coin, replacing it with a coin of roughly the same dimensions and mass as the American nickel. However, unlike the American coin, which was 75% copper and 25% nickel, the Canadian coin was pure nickel, as Canada was the world's largest producer of the metal. This coin has since been known almost universally as the nickel.

The five-cent coin of Newfoundland, on the other hand, remained silver until the end of the Newfoundland coinage in 1947.

The nickel's composition has changed several times, most notably during World War II and the Korean War when nickel was redirected to the war effort. In 1942 and 1943, the coins were minted in tombac, a copper-zinc alloy; in 1944 and 1945, and again from 1951 to 1954, coins were made of steel which was plated twice, first with nickel and then chromium. The plating was applied before the blanks were struck, so the edges of these coins are dull or even rusted. The composition was returned to pure nickel after both wars. More recently, in 1981, the same copper-nickel alloy used in the American coin was adopted in the Canadian coin, with the ironic result that the nickel then contained less nickel than any other circulating Canadian coin except the cent. In 2000, along with all other circulating Canadian coins, the composition was changed again to nickel-plated steel; this plating does cover the coin's edge.

Starting in 1942, the nickel was made dodecagonal, presumably to help distinguish the dark-coloured tombac coins from the cent. Tombac was removed from the nickel in 1944, but the coins remained twelve-sided until 1962.

1921 five-cent coin

Five-cent coins dated 1921 are among the rarest and most collectible Canadian circulation coins, with approximately 400 specimens known. In May of 1921 the government of Canada passed an act authorizing the change to the larger nickel coin, and subsequently the majority of the 1921 mint run was melted down.^[1]

The only rarer Canadian circulation coin is the 1921 fifty-cent coin, with a population of approximately 75. The 1911 dollar coin is rarer still, with only three examples known, but it is a pattern coin that was never released for circulation.

Commemorative nickels

Although not strictly a commemorative, the "Victory nickel", struck from 1943 to 1945, was the first non-standard circulating Canadian coin other than commemorative dollars; the reverse features a flaming torch and a large V that stands for both Victory and the coin's denomination. The rim denticles were replaced by the phrase "We win when we work willingly" in Morse Code. This design was re-used in 2005 to commemorate the 60^th anniversary of V-E Day.^[2] Almost uniquely in the history of Canadian coinage, the reverse was engraved to scale by Thomas Shingles; most coin designs are engraved at a much larger scale and reduced with a pantograph.

In 1951, a special commemorative five-cent piece was struck to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the metal's initial discovery. Due to the onset Korean War, production of this commemorative was halted to preserve nickel for the war effort, resulting in a second non-commemorative 1951 "nickel" made of plated steel.

In 1967, all the circulating coins received a special reverse for the Canadian Centennial; the nickel featured a rabbit.

History of Composition http://www.mint.ca

References

See also

• Big Nickel
• Nickel (U.S. coin)
• NUFN Website