Canadian silver coins
 

Can anyone help me with the silver content of the various canadian silver coins. That is dimes, quarters, halves and dollars. I know the older ones were 925 silver then came the 800 fine and at the very end the last ones were 500 fine. What I'm look for is what years did the different silver content exist and how much silver was in the different denominations. Thanks in advance.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Here are a few somewhat recent discussions that might help.

MT Silver

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showt...anadian+silver

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showt...anadian+silver

http://goldismoney.info/forums/showt...anadian+silver (an older one)

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Thanks MT for your help.:wavey:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood,

For Canadian dimes, quarters and fifty cents:
1919 and older are .925 Ag + .075 Cu
1920 to 1967 are .800 Ag + .200 Cu

The dollar coins:
1935 to 1967: .800 Ag + .200 Cu

You can trust this information, it's been double and triple verified.

Some 1968 dimes and quarters are .500 Ag + .500 Cu. But many 1968 dimes and quarters are 99% Ni. All 1968 fifty cents and dollar coins are 99% Ni.
Personnaly, I stay away from 1968 coins.


Yesterday at one of the rare coin shows here in Montreal, I have picked up a few old 1919 and 1916 fifty cents coins at silver spot price. Thoses .925 coins ring very nicely.

Yesterday, I also got from another dealer, a bunch of .800 Ag fifty cents for about 8% under silver spot price. Thoses coins are very nice, hardly circulated. I guess I got lucky. I went back today to buy more, but the guy was sold out on all his Canadian junk silver ... of course, at the price he was selling it to. But today from another dealer, I got a bunch of pre-1967 Canadian dollars coins at silver spot price. Very nice big coins also, although they are .800 Ag, they ring nicely.

A good evening to all ! Cheers ! :coolbeer:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood,

if this additionnal info can be of any help.

Weight of Canadian coins containing silver:

Dimes: 2.33 grams

Quarters: 5.83 grams

Fifty cents: 11.66 grams

Dollar: 23.33 grams

Thoses are the total weight of the coins. Not just the silver content.

Cheers ! :beer:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silver Quebecer, I see you are Canadian. Can you still find silver coins in the circulating coinage? I'm thinking that the 1968 silver coins would have been overlooked. If you were to go to a bank and buy rolls of dimes , quarters and halves it would be my guess you could find those 1968 50% silvers. In the US you can still find the 40% Kennedy halves in the banks.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood,

There is no more 1968 silver coins circulating. About 2 months ago I went and got 20 rolls of quarters. I was just curious to know if I would at least find one 1967 or pre-67 silver quarter in the lot. All I got in the lot of 800 quarters is one 1968 and it was a nickel quarter. I tested it out with a magnet to make sure, it was magnetic. But silver coins look different, they are grey, not shiny and the feel on fingertips is different. I know when it is silver, I have the feel for it.

2 or 3 years ago, I had in my pocket change a 1967 .800 silver dime. That is the only silver coin that I got from circulating coinage in all that time. Of course I have kept it. You can assume that all silver coins are out of circulation here in Canada.

Sometimes on ebay I get lucky and buy small lots of Canadian junk silver for under spot including shipping (under 100$ lots). About 2 weeks ago I bid and won a nice lot of .800 fifty cents and also a bunch of .800 dimes. I got them from a guy that lives in British Columbia. They are very nice coins.

On ebay, when I bid on a lot of silver junk, I am always prepared. I set a limit price that is pre-calculated. So I am never guessing. If I have to, I bid at the very last second. To be on the safe side, I always substract 5% of the silver content of the lot to compensate for wear. But rarely a coin will have lost 5% of its weight. For a lot of averge circulated silver coins, when I weight them with my small electronic scale, it is between 1.5 % and 2% lost weight (wear). The worst coin that I have is an american half dollar coin, a walking liberty, most likely of the 1920,s can't read the date on it anymore. That one has lost 10% of its weight, it is very very thin. A rule of thumb for american half dollars is to try to stay away from Walking Liberties, older = thinner, although I find that they are very nice coins. I have a whole bunch of Franklins that are bang on 12.5 grams on the scale. No wear at all. My preference goes towards bigger coins, like American half dollars, Canadian fifty cents and Canadian dollars coins. Most of the Canadian fifty cents and dollars have not circulated much at all. People used to put them away. Out of the Canadians dollars that I have bought today, not even one tenth of a gram lost to wear. Their total weight is bang on to theorical 23.33 grams per coin. Amazing !

Until a while ago I was overlooking 80% Ag Canadian coinage. I was mainly looking for 90% American, and of course Canadian silver maples... But I realised that I could make some pretty good deals in buying 80% Canadian junk. Very often I have bought under spot price and at the most at spot price, but never above spot price. Lately I even bought a lot of 80% Ag Canadian coins, for 6$ Canadian per once of Ag. That was a good deal. But that one I did not get on ebay...

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

http://www.coinsite.com/content/arti...nadaSilver.asp



SPECIFICATIONS:

FIVE CENTS:
Diameter: 15.494 millimeters
Weight: 1.167 grams
Composition: .925 Silver, .075 Copper (1858-1919)
Composition: .800 Silver, .200 Copper (1920-21)
Edge: Reeded

TEN CENTS:
Diameter: 18.034 millimeters
Weight: 2.33 grams
Composition: .925 Silver, .075 Copper (1858-1919)
Composition: .800 Silver, .200 Copper (1920-67)
Composition: .500 Silver, .500 Copper (1967-68)
Edge: Reeded

TWENTY CENTS:
Diameter: 23.27 millimeters
Weight: 4.67 grams
Composition: .925 Silver, .075 Copper
Edge: Reeded


TWENTY-FIVE CENTS:
Diameter: 23.62 millimeters (1870-1953)
Diameter: 23.88 millimeters (1953-)
Weight: 5.81 grams
Composition: .925 Silver, .075 Copper (1870-1919)
Composition: .800 Silver, .200 Copper (1920-67)
Composition: .500 Silver, .500 Copper (1967-68)
Edge: Reeded


FIFTY CENTS:
Diameter: 29.72 millimeters
Weight: 11.62 grams (1870-1919)
Weight: 11.66 grams (1920-1967)
Composition: .925 Silver, .075 Copper (1870-1919)
Composition: .800 Silver, .200 Copper (1920-67)
Edge: Reeded

:bandito:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silver Quebecer, in regard to going into a Canadian bank, can you still buy halves or dollars of any type? Do the havles or dollars circulate or are they just a once in awhile coin coming into the cash register? What I'm getting at is in the US halves don't circulate and sheeple tend to save them for awhile. Then that irresistable thing that they must have comes along so they roll up their halves and "cash them in" at the bank... silver ones included. I have used this concept and have bought the halves out of US banks since the late 70s and have found thousands of silver coins mostly 40% but many 90% too. I just think it could be done in Canada also.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

SilverQue., I wonder if you can tell me how to tell the difference between the 50% and 80% 1967 dimes and quarters-they made both types that year. If you "ping" them on the counter sometimes you can tell the difference by the sound- but it's pretty tricky! I think dealers you sold them to would probably price them somewhere in between but I wonder if even they could tell.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood, I think the same sort of hoarding goes on in Canada and when people need the money they just cash them in at a bank. The reason I say this is I work retail and a couple years ago I opened a roll of quarters from the till and they were all 80% silver. Needless to say I purchased them myself :cool1:
I went through a few more and found 2 more rolls like that and a couple of dime rolls too! Lately though,it's just been a few silver ones here and there-I think the supply is drying up or the banks are wising up:frown:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood,

I have never tried to get a roll of fifty cents coins at the bank. I am sure that they do not have them. They might get the odd roll once in awhile when someone comes in and cashes it. The old fifty cents coins are out of circulation, you'll never find them. I think they still produced them but the mintage is low, anyway they don't have much value because since year 2000, their composition is .9315 steel + .0475 copper + .021 nickel plating.

As far as dollars go, in 1987 they have stopped issuing the one dollar paper bill and introduced the bronze plated "loonie", it's a 7 sided coin, .915 copper + .085 bronze plating. The big 36 mm diameter Canadian dollar coin that used to be 80% silver until 1967, then 99 % Nickel until 1986 is not produced anymore. There might still be some kind of a yearly numismatic edition of thoses coins still produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, but that would be very low mintage and of course numismatic.

So to answer your question, the fifty cents coins and the big old dollars coins (1986 and older) are pratically out of circulation. People put them away. It would be very very unusual for someone to go in a convienience store and buy let's say a newspaper with an old 1985 dollar coin, even if that coin is 99 % nickel. Since I was a kid, (I was born in the mid-fifties), I have rarely seen 50 cents and dollar coins (the old ones) in circulation. They would never give you thoses as change in stores, they were very rare.

Crisco67,
for 1967 ten cents and twenty-five cents Canadian coins:
as far as I know and seen, 1967 coins were a special edition, the centenial of the Canadian Confederation. The 1967 10 cent coin "confederation centenial" has a mackerel (fish) on the obs. Thoses 10 cents coins are 80%. And the 1967 25 cents coins has a wildcat on it, (or bobcat or cougar, I am not too sure) some kind of feline anyway. I believe that all thoses "confederation centenial" 10, 25, 50 cents and dollar coins are 80% Ag. But if they changed the composition to 50% Ag while they were producing them for the 1967 edition and the coins are exactly alike, it would very difficult to tell the difference. But if in 1967 they also produced the regular "Bluenose" (the sail boat) on the obs of the 10 cent coin and also the regular "cariboo head" on the obs of the 25 cent coin, and if then those are the 50% Ag coins, then it would be very easy to tell.
At the coin show (in Montreal) where I was this weekend, the widely common belief amongst dealers there, is that all 1967 10, 25, 50 cents and dollar coins are 80% Ag. Are they right? I don't know for sure.
So it does not really answer your question. There is something about 1967 and 1968 Canadian coins that is a bit of a mystery.

Damn... when I think that when we were kids (I am talking about my generation here), we used to go to the corner store to buy candies and firecrackers with silver ten cents coins... Trading real silver for sugar... he he... how innocent I was...

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

SilverQ. if you look at Barebulls post, you'll see that the date ranges for the 80% and 50% dimes and quarters overlap the year of 67. Also, if you follow this link:
https://online.kitco.com/sellprice/completelist.html
you'll see at the bottom right the buy price for 67 coins is in between the pre_67 (80%) and the 68's (50%) so it must be a mixture. This is important if you are purchasing them because when you sell them(if you do) you're not gonna get paid as if they're all 80%.
How to tell (reliably) the difference is a mystery to me! Any ideas out there?

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

You can get new Canadian 50 cent pieces from the banks. They're never used in circulation, but usually the mint sends off enough to satisfy collector demand. Price is face value and they come rolled in that plastic shrink wrap stuff like the quarters.

As for 500 or 800 fine coins - flipping them in the air is one way to tell the difference. I sorted a few 1967 quarters based on whether they sounded more like my 1965 or my 1968. The sound really is quite different.

I've been meaning to weigh the two on a good scale, but keep getting sidetracked. Monday I'll do it.

Electrical resistance is the same for both the coins, to the accuracy of my multimeter.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Silverwood - silver 50 cent and 1 dollar coins in Canada really stand out. The silver dimes and quarters are the same size and design as the nickel dimes and quarters, but the silver halves look nothing like the modern ones. The diameter is much larger, so they couldn't be rolled together. The silver dollars look nothing like the nickel dollars, which look nothing like our modern loonie. Although, people still keep the old nickel dollars because they think they're silver.

It is possible to find silver dimes and quarters in circulation. I catch about 3 a year, however, so I'd say the prevelance is 1 silver coin for every 3,300 coins that pass through my hands.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Crisco67,

In my technical aspect of Canadian coinage sheet, I have exactly the same overlap for 1967 and 1968 10 and 25 cents silver coins.
I am aware that Kitco has 3 different prices for Canadian silver coins.
But something with their 1967 prices is not right if some 1967 coins are 80% Ag. Anyway, I would never sell to Kitco because they don't pay enough.

I have bought a lot of 1967 dimes lately and I had set my maximum buying price as if the lot was 50% silver. This is all I will pay for 1967 coins, I will buy them as being 50%, but I believe thoses coins (the confederation centenial coins) are 80% Ag. And like I have mentionned in my earlier post, the common belief here (at least in the Montreal area) is that all 1967 10, 25, 50 cents, dollars, are 80% Ag. So people around here buy and sell them as all being 80% Ag. I never heard anyone mentionning that there could be 50% Ag in 1967 coinage. But that is what is written in the technical aspect descriptions and I am well aware of it. Anyway, as long as this 50% and 80% Ag content of 1967 Canadian coins will remain some kind of mystery, I will try to stay away from 1967 coins and if I'll buy more in the future, all I will pay is for 50% silver content. This is the best way for myself that I have found to deal with 1967 silver coins. Whenever I buy Canadian coins, I try to buy coins from the 40's until 1965 or 1966. No mystery about them.

Would it be possible that sometime (many years ago) there has been an error in the technical aspect description of 1967 Canadian coins? It could be a possibility.

But Crisco67, I am like you. I have the "investigator" type of character. I really would like to know more about all that mystery around 1967-1968 silver content of Canadian coins. I have search quite a bit on the web for it, but have never found anything conclusive.

Have a good day!

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

I have access to an accurate digital scale at work so I'll weigh some 67 and 68 silver quarters.
If they have the same diameter and thickness (I think they do) the 80% ones should be heavier. I'll report back soon!

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Goto www.jandm.com. In the catalog area they have retail pricing and descriptions of Canadian coinage.

I collect Canadian coinage as well. My understanding is that mid 1967 mintage they switched from 80% to 50% for dimes and quarters. In 1968 they switched from 50% to 0%. Dollar and half dollar coins were 80% silver through 1967 however.

Canadian seems a pretty good bet these days with a smaller premium (and occassional deals) as well as having a coin denominated in a currency with a current account SURPLUS.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Ok, so today I weighed a 1965 quarter (800 fine) and a 1968 quater (500 fine). Who wants to guess the results?

I was surprised, really. These quarters clearly sounded different when flipped in the air. The 1965 gave a higher pitch. Copper is lighter than silver. You'd think the weight would be different.

The 500 fine and 800 fine gave me the same weight to 0.1g! Isn't that a pisser? I think sound is the best way to tell them apart.

Rarely is the thickness of the coin published. My bet is that the thickness was adjusted to result in the same weight, so that the coins could be used in vending machines (did they have vending machiines in 1968? I wasn't alive then to know.) Or maybe something weird happens with the density when copper and silver are mixed. I'm all curious now.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Similarly surprising findings here. I weighed about 40- 1967's and got weights in the range of 5.67 to 5.92. Some had a touch of wear and others some junk on them so I assume they were all the same weight. Weighed 4 -1968's and got 5.76 to 5.96. Weighed 3- 1966's and got 5.72 to 5.92. I agree that they must all be the same weight .I have a roll of BU 1966's and BU 1968's so I'll weigh a few of those and also stack'em side by side to see if they're different thicknesses. I'll bet they're the same thickness and that the alloy in the 800 fine is adjusted to give the same total density. I think it would have to be less dense than copper.
500 fine= 50% silver 50% copper
800 fine= 80% silver, 7.5%copper,12.5% something less dense thatn copper
Burl, does this sound feasible?

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

It makes even less sense, because the .800 silver coins came out first. Did they manage to pick the perfect mixture in the 30's with the plan of using .500 silver coins for a brief period in the 60's? I think Charlton is right, and it's .800 silver, .200 copper.

I do have a micrometer, I'll give it a shot.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

I stacked up 40-BU 1966'S AND 40-BU 1968(silver) side by side very carefully and could not see a bit of difference. I weighed a few and they all came out similar. I did a bit of math comparing the volume of a 23.62mm diameter with the volume of 23.88 and found that the thickness would have to increase 0.035mm per coin to maintain the same 23.88mm diameter.(I'm comparing 80/20 coins with (50/50)as per Burl's table). Over 40 coins that's about 1.40mm,close to the thickness of 1 coin. That should be detectable but I couldn't find any difference- for what it's worth.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

If you have 40 of each, perhaps you could experimentally compare the volume? I suppose you'd need a really nice graduated cylinder. I have all the equipment at work, but not that many 1966 and 1968 quarters!

I'll try to buy a few tommorrow instead of silver bars... this is becoming interesting.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Good day to all,

I have also weighted out some 1968 silver quarters. I get the same result as Cousi. 1968 silver quarters = 5.8g , so same weight as 1967 or 1966...

A friend of mine as a Canadian coins book. For 1967 quarters there is an added note just below the coin description: Composition was switched from .800 to 500. Ag during that year production.
Nothing of help. It remains a mystery.

In the mean time I have bought more 1967 silver quarters and dimes, but this time I have only paid 2$ (CAD) per dollar face value. So I have been buying that silver at very low cost. I figure a 1967 .500 Ag silver quarter is worth at leat 1$ (CAD) @ 10$ US silver spot price. So at the price I don't really care if it's .500, .800 or mixed.
I got lucky again with another deal yesterday and bought a bunch of very nice JM and Engelhard silver bars, one ouncers and 5 ouncers for 8$ (CAD) per once. The JM bars are still sealed in their original plastic, they are like new shinny ones. Engelhard are not sealed but beautiful, not even a small scratch on them. I could not believe how nice they are, so I took everything he had. But I have missed the jackpot... the guy had just sold 9 kilos (almost 290 ounces) total of silver bars for 8$ (CAD) per ounce... He showed me pictures on his computer of what he had just sold, nice 50 ouncers and one kilo bars... damn... All Johnson Matthey and Englehard, not the extruded type of bars, they were poured bars, very nice stuff... Ah well... Can't get lucky all the time...

Have a good one ! :beer:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

SilverQuebecer....

If the 80% silver coins are gone from circulation then folks obviously have been pulling them out.

Question: Silver is silver and 80% is 80%, but what are the thoughts of the Canadian silver crowd about the fact that it is illegal to melt any of these coins? And does this law impact the intensity of interest in Canadian Ag coins as opposed to the 90% U.S. coins which can be legally melted there?

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

goldminer,

First to answer your question, I think people don't care if lots of silver Canadian coins are going to melt.

Not very many people from the grand public are looking for 80% Ag coins here. Some guys, do the same as I do and buy 80% Ag, but we are not thousands doing it in the area.
I am sure that lots of what the others buy, goes to resell for melt. They don't keep it like I am doing.
I have always assumed that it is illegal to melt Canadian coins here in Canada, but honestly I don't know for sure about that part of the law. Anyway, I know a few dealers that buy 80% here in Montreal and I assume most of it goes to melt. As far as I am concerned, I don't really care if 10 cents and 25 cents coins go into melt. I own lots of Ag 50 cents and dollar coins. Thoses are very nice coins, they don't have numismatic value, or very little. I will hold on to them as long as I can. Personally, it would kind of break my heart to see thoses nice coins go to melt. I hope thoses coins (the very nice 50 cents and dollars) will be a part of my heritage and in 300 hundred years from today someone will still hold them preciously.

The Montreal area and the province of Quebec is not a big 80% coin silver market. Sometimes during weekends I go around flee markets. Still lately I have still been able to buy 80% Ag Canadian coins way under spot price in flee markets. I hit this dealer at a certain flee market every second week and it is amazing what I can buy from him (price and condition of coins) Even sometimes he has US coins, just to give you an example: a couple of weeks ago, I have bought very nice 1964 Kennedys for 2$ CAD each. That it the guy's selling price, what can I do? I just buy them. On the same saturday, he had just bought a big collection of 80% Ag Canadian dollars and 50 cents coins, I bought just about everything he had, I cleaned him up, it was cheap.
People around here don't care about silver coins. It seems like it's not part of the French Canadian culture. Just to tell you, next month, I will be buying the second part of a big estate (all 80% Canadian coins) that is coming from one of the maritime province. It is quite big, the price is already negotiated, it will be under 8$ CAD per troy ounce and the seller is very happy. It seems like people don't want to bother with it, they don't care, they just want paper money. Paper bills makes them happy, coins are too heavy.

It seem that whenever I can find 80% silver coins here, they are cheap, still. But for how long still, I don't know. I guess the 80% Ag market here is small but it has certain advantages.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

I'm not normally on the lookout for junk silver coins, but today I was poking around in an antique mall near me and found a bunch of Canadian and Australian silver coins -- 10 cent and 25 cent pieces mainly -- that dated to the early 1900s or so.

As most of them were priced around $3-$4 each, I wonder if that's a reasonable price to pay for them. If so, I want to go back and grab them of course. Anyone know what you should expect to pay for them?

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

A pre-67 Canadian quarter contains about 0.15oz of silver (earlier 1900's are .925 silver but are usually much more worn so I include these as 0.15oz) so if spot silver is about $11, each quarter would be about 11x.15=$1.65 so I think $3 or 4 is too steep for junk. A dime would be about $0.65 using the same math. Hope this helps.

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

Thanks Crisco, that does help a bunch :smile:

Re: Canadian silver coins
 

I have some eBay auctions currently running for Canadian silver junk. I have also wrote a guide on buying Canadian silver for eBay.

Check out seller "loewith" for further info.