Dollar Parity: Canadian Currency and the Collector
09.30.07 By Derek DahlsadI know, you’re constantly watching the Canadian national currency values anyways, but if you hadn’t, I’m sure you heard the news that the Canadian Dollar is neck-and-neck with the US dollar in value. In my gift to my brother on his graduation, I included a $5 Canadian bill — he eventually left it as a tip in a small-town Texas restaurant for a friend who waited on him, but I’m sure he’s kicking himself, because, after ten years of appreciation, that Fiver would be worth…um, well, five dollars today. It’s a confusing thing, you know — foreign currency markets and all that — but I’ll be focusing on a market we are a bit more familiar with: the collectibles market.
The king of Canadian collectible monies is the 1948 silver dollar. Prior to 1947, Canadian coins (under the auspices of the United Kingdom) identified their King with the phrase “Dei Gra Rex Et Ind Imp” — the last three meaning “Emperor of India.” India’s independence meant a change in currency, and due to 
political procrastination, the 1948 Canadian Dollar didn’t have much of a run…only 18,000 in fact. This makes it an extraordinarily rare coin, not being scarce due to a minting error or mistake in its creation. Price depending on quality has ranged from $1,000 - $2,500 on eBay recently. The dollar is the most valuable of that year, but all coins suffered smaller runs for the same reason, and are accordingly valuable.
For most people younger than their thirties, anybody but Queen Elizabeth on a coin is a curiosity — but there were several. The reigning monarch graced the obverse of nearly every coin, from Queen Victoria to Edward and the Georges of the 20th Century. This can be a quick identifier of the general time-period of a Canadian Coin without having to find the date (which moved around, depending on the coin). With long-reigning queens like Elizabeth II, 
her image aged appropriately as well, as you can see in the coins on the right. The earliest coin is on the left, one from the 1970s is on the top, and the bottom is a recent Canadian penny.
Aside from the changes in their monarchy, Canada has led the way in commemorative coinage, ranging from the 1967 centennial to special-issue coins for province centennials. One particular commemorative coin, the 2004 Memorial Poppy coin, should be of interest to collectors: the reverse has an added red tint to the poppy, which has been known to wear off. Good condition poppies will become rarer as they come into contact with pockets and their related spare change.
Like the US’ recent dollar coin misstrikes, Canada has had their share of minting errors. This excellent website has numerous examples of Canadian coin errors, ranging from the standard die-wear errors, to striking coin-blanks intended for other countries’ monies.
As anyone who’s heard the word “loonie” in financial terms before, Canadian paper money is scarcer these days, used only for denominations of $5 or greater. The paper $1 and $2 notes were discontinued just a few years ago, thus making them a bit more collectible. Canadian money has always used a variety of colors in the printing process, making different denominations more identifiable. Also unlike US money, the style has changed greatly in the past century since the Bank of Canada started printing the ‘modern’ currency. A variety of older notes, issued by other organizations, banks, and provinces, exists — and it quite spendy. As time passes, the older notes become rarer and more desirable to collectors.
So, look through that pile of coins that the candy machine at work won’t take — there might be something interesting in there, from a red poppy to a King George. If someone leaves you a $5 Canadian tip, take a closer look at it: it might be worth quite a bit more than it’s face value. Even if it’s a recent printing, at least you shouldn’t feel slighted: $5 Canadian is still $5, at least in the meantime.
Canadian currency resources:
- Coins and Notes of Canada, via Wikipedia
- The Bank of Canada
- The Royal Canadian Mint
- Canadian Coin News
- The Canadian Numismatic Publishing Institute
Related items currently available for sale
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Article Tags: Canada, Canadian Currency, silver dollar================
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