Silver Canadian Coins (1858-1967)
>Find
valuable buying/selling information on several (29) of the
most popular Canadian silver coins in my book The Last Canadian 80 Percent Silver Coins.
Available as an eBook.
Silver Canadian coins have a most interesting history. The coins that were minted at London's Royal Mint beginning in 1858 were five-cent, ten-cent and twenty-cent coins containing 92.5 percent silver. In 1870, the twenty-five cent coin (silver Canadian quarter) replaced the twenty-cent coin and the fifty-cent coin (silver Canadian half-dollar) was introduced.
Some of these early silver coins were minted by the Heaton Mint (a privately owned mint located in Birmingham, England) and bear the "H" mint mark. In 1908, the Royal Canadian Mint was established to begin production of Canada's coins.
Silver coins with 92.5 percent silver fineness...
Canadian Dime(1858-1919): Silver Content=.0690-.0694 Troy ounces*
Canadian Twenty-Cent Coin(1858): Silver Content=.1382 Troy ounces*
Canadian Quarter(1870-1919): Silver Content=.1728-.1734 Troy ounces*
Canadian Half-Dollar(1870-1919): Silver Content=.3456 Troy ounces*
*The silver content for the above coins are for uncirculated coins. Circulated coins have a slightly lower silver content due to their wear from daily commerce.
Due to the rising price of silver after World War I, the Canadian government made the decision to reduce the amount of silver in their coins from the sterling silver content of 92.5 percent to 80 percent. This started in 1920 and continued until 1967. More information on these coins...
Silver coins with 80 percent silver fineness...
Canadian Quarters(1920-1967): Silver Content=.1463 Troy ounces (circulated), .1500 uncirculated
Canadian Half-Dollars(1920-1967): Silver Content=.2925 Troy ounces (circulated), .3000 uncirculated
Canadian Dollars(1936-1967): Silver content=.600 Troy ounces.
Sampling of Canadian Eighty-Percent Silver Coins
Canadian Nickels containing silver were discontinued after 1921.
1967 was the last year Silver Canadian Dollars and Half Dollars
were struck for general circulation.
By mid-1967, Canada reduced the silver content of the Canadian Dime and Canadian Quarter from 80 to 50 percent. Unfortunately there is no practical way to determine which coins contain 80 percent silver versus those containing only 50 percent silver.
Silver coins with 50 percent silver fineness...
Canadian Quarter(1967-1968): Silver Content=.0937 Troy ounces, Gross Wt.=5.81 grams
By mid-1968, silver was removed from all Canadian circulating coins of these denominations.
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](https://kitconet.com/charts/metals/silver/t24_ag_en_caoz_2.gif "[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]")
To determine
the approximate silver melt value of a Silver Canadian Coin,
multiply the amount of silver (in Troy ounces) by the current spot
price of silver. The chart at right shows the current spot
price of one troy ounce of silver in Canadian dollars. To see the
current spot silver price in U.S.
dollars, go to the Silver Investing Guide Home page.
Example: The approximate value of a Silver Canadian dollar with
the spot price of silver at $32.00 Canadian is $19.20 CAD ($32.00
x .6) plus the current premium.
Shopping For Canadian Silver Coins
If you live in Canada, a likely starting point for your purchases
would be at your local coin shop. If you are a U.S. citizen or a
Canadian visiting the U.S., you may have better luck at a coin
shop in one of the states bordering Canada as I have found some
coin shops in the U.S. are a "little light" on their knowledge and
inventory of Canadian coins. Good luck.
Disclaimer:
I have made every reasonable effort
to produce an informative and helpful article on Canadian silver
coins based on my research and experiences. However, I make no
representation or warranties of any kind with regard to its
completeness, accuracy or suitability for any specific situation
or purpose. See Terms and Conditions for more info.