Canadian Silver Coins

Silver Canadian Maple Leaf

The Silver Canadian Maple Leaf is a truely beautiful coin. First minted in 1988 by the Royal Canadian Mint, each full-size coin contains 1 troy ounce of pure 99.99% silver and has a face value of $5.00 Canadian Dollars. It is the purest one-ounce silver coin produced by any government mint anywhere in the world.

The obverse (front) of the Silver Maple Leaf (above left) features the image of Queen Elizabeth II, the Head of the British Commonwealth (of which Canada is a member). The original image was changed in 1990 to a more mature image of the Queen. The reverse (above right) features the Maple Leaf, Canada's national symbol. More facts about the Silver Maple Leaf...

Silver Canadian Maple Leaf One-Ounce Bullion Coin: Silver content=.9999 Troy ounces (31.072 grams); Gross weight=1.000 Troy ounces (31.103 grams); Face Value $5.00 (CAN); Royal Canadian Mints- Ottawa,Winnipeg; Minted-1988 to present.

If you are a collector (or want to start a collection) of one-ounce Silver Canadian Maple Leaf coins, you will find some are more costly than others. The lower mintage coins , such as the 1996 and 1997 Silver Maple Leafs, command more of a premium since they are harder to come by than the higher mintage (1989, 2007, etc.) coins.

The various mint figures, by year, are below...

1988-1,062,000; 1989-3,332,200; 1990-1,708,800; 1991- 644,300;
1992-343,800; 1993-1,133,900; 1994-889,946; 1995-326,244;
1996-250,445; 1997-100,970; 1998-591,359; 1999-1,229,442;
2000-403,652; 2001-398,563; 2002-576,196; 2003-684,750;
2004-680,925; 2005- 955,694; 2006- 2,464,727; 2007- 3,526,052

Other Canadian Silver Coins

The minting of Canadian silver coins began in 1858 with the production of five-cent, ten-cent and twenty-cent coins. These coins were minted by the Royal Mint in London, England and were 92.5 percent silver.

In 1870, the twenty-cent coin was replaced with a twenty-five cent coin and a fifty-cent coin was introduced. Some of these coins were minted by the Heaton Mint (a privately owned mint located in Birmingham, England) and bear the "H" mint mark. Canadian silver coins with a 92.5 percent silver fineness are summarized below...

Canadian Silver Nickel(1858-1919): Gross Wt.=1.167 grams.
Canadian Silver Dime(1858-1919): Gross Wt.=2.33 grams.
Canadian Silver Twenty-Cent Piece(1858): Gross Wt.=4.67 grams.
Canadian Silver Quarter(1870-1919): Gross Wt.=5.81 grams.
Canadian Silver Half-Dollar(1870-1919): Gross Wt.=11.62 grams.

Note: There are approximately 31.103 grams in a Troy ounce.

Canadian Eighty-Percent Silver Coins

With the rising price of silver after World War I, the Canadian government decided to cut the amount of silver in their coins from 92.5 percent to 80 percent. This started in 1920 and continued until 1967. Below are some facts on these coins...

Canadian Silver Dime(1920-1967): Silver Content=.0585 Troy ounces,Gross Wt.=2.33grams
Canadian Silver Quarter(1920-1967): Silver Content=.1463 Troy ounces, Gross Wt.=5.81 grams
Canadian Silver Half(1920-1967): Silver Content=.2925 Troy ounces, Gross Wt.=11.66 grams
Canadian Silver Dollar (1936-1966): Silver content=.600 Troy ounces.

Silver five-cent pieces were discontinued after 1921 and replaced with pure nickel coins. Many of the later silver five-cent pieces were not released into circulation.

The silver content of the above coins are for circulated coins (taking into account the wear factor). Uncirculated coins have a slightly higher silver content.

Canadian Fifty-Percent Silver Coins

In mid-1967, Canada changed the silver content of the ten-cent piece and twenty-five cent piece from 80 to 50 percent silver. No silver half-dollars were minted after 1967. In mid-1968, silver was removed from all Canadian coins of these denominations.

More information on 50 percent Canadian silver coins...

Canadian Silver Dime(1967-1968): Silver Content=.0375 Troy ounces,Gross Wt.=2.33grams
Canadian Silver Quarter(1967-1968): Silver Content=.0937 Troy ounces, Gross Wt.=5.81 grams

Canadian Silver Coins on eBay

At any given time, there are a number of Canadian silver coin auctions going on in eBay. A review of these auctions will tell you which silver coins sell better than others and current bid prices for various coins. Especially valuable are the silver coin auctions closest to expiring - both those with bids and those with no bids. They can give you a good idea of what are fair prices today for Canadian Silver Coins - and which are not.

If you only want to invest in one or a few coins at a time, eBay auctions might be right for you (many dealers are not interested in small sales). It's free to set up an account - just click on any auction below, look for "register" in the upper left-hand corner (by the eBay logo) and click on it to get started.

For your convenience, I have included a number of Canadian Silver Coin auctions closest to expiration below. Carefully review these and check back often - you may be able to pick up some nice silver coins at a decent price.

If you see an auction you want to bid on, check on the seller's eBay "reputation" before you bid. On the auction page, look for "Meet the seller" on the right-hand side (toward the top). There you will see the seller ID followed by a number in parenthesis. The higher that transaction number + high positive feedback (95% or better), the more assurance you have of a "safe" winning bid.

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.

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