{"id":75667,"date":"2026-03-30T12:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lavalgold.ca\/?p=75667"},"modified":"2026-03-30T12:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T16:38:08","slug":"une-histoire-du-nickel-canadien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lavalgold.ca\/en\/une-histoire-du-nickel-canadien\/","title":{"rendered":"A history of Canadian nickel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Those who walk around with change in their pockets most likely have a few nickels in their collection. The inch-sized, silvery-looking coin features one of Canada's beloved animals - the beautiful and majestic beaver - on the front. Contrary to its name, Canadian nickel actually contains very little of its eponymous base metal, and is now made of nickel-plated steel.<\/p>\n

The story of how the 5-cent coin went from being made of silver to steel is a long and fascinating one.<\/p>\n

Currency before Confederation<\/h2>\n

Prior to Canadian Confederation in 1867, various British North American colonies (such as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) issued their own decimal coins. In 1858, the Royal Mint of England issued coins specifically for the Province of Canada. The 5-cent coin was tiny, its size intended to reflect its value; half the size of a dime. It was also made of sterling silver.<\/p>\n

Standardization and the advent of nickel (1870-1921)<\/h2>\n

After Confederation, the new Dominion of Canada began to standardize its coinage. Until then, Canadian coins continued to be produced by either the Royal Mint of England or the Birmingham Heaton Mint - identified by the \u00abH\u00bb hallmark - until 1908, when the Royal Mint opened its Ottawa branch.<\/p>\n

The switch to the material that gives the coin its popular name came in 1922. Due to rising silver prices and wartime metal shortages, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) sought to reduce nickel production costs. At the time, the coin's economic role was too important to be completely eliminated, but a change in its composition was needed to ease the financial burden.<\/p>\n

In 1920, the RCM first began manufacturing 5-cent coins with inferior silver, but only two years later, on January 3, 1922, the Canadian nickel was born. This version was made of pure nickel and modelled on its American counterpart. Unlike the American nickel - composed of 75 % copper and only 25 % nickel - the Canadian pure nickel coin made Canada the world's largest producer of the metal!<\/p>\n

\"Canadian<\/p>\n

Wartime modifications and design explorations<\/h2>\n

World War II brought unprecedented demands for materials, forcing the Mint to look for alternatives to pure nickel, a metal essential to the war effort. The materials used to make beloved coins were now being diverted to the production of armor. As a result, the composition of nickel underwent some changes to adapt to available materials and economic solutions.<\/p>\n