1925 Canadian Nickel
The 1925 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 200,050 made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1925
- Circulation mintage
- 200,050
- Value band
- Collector premium
- Composition
- Nickel (99.9%)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1925 Canadian Nickel worth?
With 200,050 struck, the 1925 Canadian Nickel ranks 2nd lowest of the 161 circulating Canadian nickels we track. Collectors pay a collector premium even for worn examples. Sharp, uncirculated coins with no marks bring considerably more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1925 Canadian Nickel rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian nickels. With 200,050 struck, the 1925 Canadian Nickel ranks 2nd lowest of the 161 circulating Canadian nickels we track.
- How many 1925 Canadian nickels were made?
- 200,050 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1925 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 4.54 g and measures 21.2 mm.
- Is the 1925 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.
The 1925 nickel in context
The 1925 is the king of Canadian nickels. The Ottawa mint struck only 200,050 that year, the lowest mintage of any Canadian large five cents from 1922 to today. The years on either side tell the story: 3,066,658 in 1924 and 933,577 in 1926, with more than five million in 1927. Supply from the first few years of the large coin seems to have left the country well stocked, so the order for 1925 was tiny. It is less than a tenth of the 1924 total.
Coins this scarce are hard to find even in worn condition and the 1925 circulated for years before anyone thought to save one. Most survivors are well worn. The date is also a magnet for fakes. Worn 1923 and 1928 nickels can be altered by reshaping the final digit, so every 1925 deserves a close look. For a collector building a run of George V nickels, this is the one coin that defines the set and it is the coin people most hope to find in an old jar.
How to recognize it
The 1925 shares the standard design of the early large nickels. Sir Bertram Mackennal's crowned bust of George V faces left with the legend GEORGIUS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse has CANADA at the top, 5 CENTS in the middle flanked by a pair of maple leaves and the date at the bottom. The coin is pure nickel, round, 21.2 mm and 4.54 g. Since the design is identical to the other years, the date is the only clue. A genuine 5 has a flat top stroke and a clean single curve, with no sign of tooling. Weight is a useful extra check.
1925 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1925 Canadian Nickel ranks 2nd lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1884 Canadian Nickel (200,000); the next more common is the 1887 Canadian Nickel (500,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 1392 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1925 output was 15 times fewer than 1924 and 4.7 times fewer than 1926.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 40.1 million five cent coins across 10 dates and varieties; the 1925 Canadian Nickel accounts for 0.5% of that.
What to check on your 1925 Canadian Nickel
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1925 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older five cent coins.
Any genuine 1925 is a significant rarity in Canadian terms, even in low grades. Examine the final digit under strong magnification and compare it with confirmed photographs. Check that the coin sticks to a magnet (pure nickel should) and that its weight is close to 4.54 g. Given the risk of fakes, authentication by a reputable grading service is the sensible step. Keep the coin in an inert holder and resist any urge to clean it, since even gentle cleaning reduces its appeal to collectors.
George V large nickel five cents (1922 to 1936)
In 1922 Canada dropped the fiddly silver piece and adopted a large five cent coin in pure nickel, much like the coin its neighbor to the south already used. The choice made sense: Canada was one of the world's great nickel producers, the metal was durable and a coin of 4.54 g on a 21.2 mm round flan was hard to lose. It also gave the denomination the name most Canadians still use: the nickel.
The obverse kept Mackennal's crowned portrait of George V with the full legend that includes DEI GRA. The reverse was new and simple: CANADA above, 5 CENTS in the middle and the date below, with two maple leaves flanking the value. The design stayed in use until 1936. Mintages ran from around two to five million in most years, but output dropped hard in the middle of the decade, with only 200,050 coins dated 1925 and 933,577 dated 1926.
The 1925 is the key date of every Canadian nickel ever struck and the 1926 is the semi key, with a near 6 and far 6 variety to check. The early 1920s dates are also worth a second look in sharp condition. Nickel is hard, so these coins often show long, smooth wear rather than scratches. A clear date matters most, because worn dates can make a common year look like a rare one. Pure nickel coins are attracted to a magnet, which is normal for this period.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1925 |
| Circulation mintage | 200,050 |
| Composition | Nickel (99.9%) |
| Weight | 4.54 g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Why is the 1925 nickel so valuable to collectors?
Only 200,050 were struck, the lowest figure of any Canadian nickel. Few were saved and many wore out, so genuine coins in any condition are hard to find. It is the key date every nickel collector needs.
What fakes should collectors watch for?
The most common are altered dates, where the final digit of a 1923 or 1928 is reshaped to look like a 5. Look for tool marks, an uneven field near the digit or a numeral that does not match the others in style.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.