A Good Decade for Cent Varieties - Edmonton Numismatic Society (2024)

A Good Decade for Cent Varieties

By: Joe Kennedy

The first decade of the 21st Century has been very eventful for collecting Canadian cent varieties. Just by searching through pocket change, we can find about two dozen different major design varieties!

It all starts with the issue of Test Token sets in 1999. In this year the Winnipeg Mint completed a new facility for plating coins. The plating plant is set up to plate coin denominations from 1¢ to $1. Special processes are used for plating copper, nickel, or brass onto steel blanks. The mint had already been using copper-plated zinc blanks for cents from 1997 to 1999. With the new plating plant, it is now possible for the mint to manufacture their own blanks completely in-house. Copper-plated zinc blanks are obtained from an external supplier.

The Test Token set issued in 1999 included a 1¢ cent with a “P” mintmark under the portrait of Queen Elizabeth. There was some discussion (confusion?) about this in the coin collecting community, as worldwide mints usually use mintmarks to indicate where a coin was manufactured. For example, in 1998 a “W” mintmark was added to the obverse of coins in some sets to indicate they came from the Winnipeg mint. Instead, this new “P” mark indicates the composition of the coin. Perhaps the “P” represented a kind of advertising for the mint to help market it’s minting capability worldwide.

The year 2000 saw the return of the “W” mintmark to coins in “Uncirculated” coin sets. This coin is minted on a copper-plated zinc blank. All circulation cents in the year 2000 are made of copper-plated zinc.

In 2001, most of the cents are made of copper-plated zinc. Coins with a “P” composition mark are found in sets.

The year 2002 was the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s ascension to the throne. The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) celebrated this event by adding a dual date (1952–2002) to the obverse for this year. Some members of the public were thrilled to find what they thought must be rare and valuable “dateless” cents when they saw the reverse design without a date.

There are two varieties found for the year 2002 – one with a “P” composition mark (a magnetic coin) and one without a “P” composition mark (a non-magnetic coin).

The year 2003 has four different varieties in circulation. In this year, the queen’s portrait is changed mid-year from the crowned portrait of the queen (designed by Dora de Pédery Hunt) to an uncrowned portrait (designed by Susanna Blunt). Both portrait styles are minted on either steel or zinc core blanks. Another variety can be found in “Uncirculated” sets from the mint. Cents in the sets have “WP” as a mintmark – oddly combining the mint’s location and the coin’s composition as one mark. The RCM Annual report for 2003 contains a cent with gold plated leaves. This is a nice looking cent!

The years 2004 and 2005 have cents found with “P” and “No-P” composition mark varieties.

Most 2006 cents are found without a mintmark. A small production of “P” composition marked cents was released. These are harder to find, but not rare. In mid-2006 there was another major change to the design of Canadian coins. The mint replaced the “P” composition mark with a small RCM logo inside a circle. In the past, the RCM stylized-leaf logo had been used on foreign coins made by the RCM, such as for Peso, 100 Peso and 500 Peso coins for the Dominican Republic in the late 1980s. Canadian cents from 2006 onward have the logo on the obverse design. This new design element is the same on both steel and zinc core blanks, so the differentiating between the two is more difficult than when the “P” mark was in use.

Cent coins made with a steel core are attracted to a magnet, whereas cents made with a zinc core are not attracted to a magnet. Having a magnet is now a requirement for cent collectors needing to determine varieties. Some collectors find that the zinc cents have a different luster and lighter color than steel cents. This may be helpful for quick sorting, but a magnet is a better diagnostic tool.

One oddball variety is the 2006 “No-P” cent that is magnetic. It’s hard to find & commands a heavy premium to buy it. Another rare variety is a 2006 cent that has a “P” composition mark but the coin is non-magnetic.

In 2007 most of the cents issued are made of copper-plated steel. Very few copper-plated zinc coins can be found. Both types have the RCM logo on them and are differentiated by being magnetic or non-magnetic.

Cents issued in 2008 are all copper-plated steel coins.

Recently, non-magnetic 2009 cents are showing up in circulation. It appears the RCM minted copper-plated zinc cents late in 2009.

Here we are in a new decade. So far, 2010 cents are being issued in the non-magnetic variety. Judging from past years, there’s a good chance we will also see the magnetic variety too. The magnetic variety can already be found in RCM sets. Check your change!

Previously published in the ENS “The Planchet” Magazine Vol-57 Issue-03