2020 Canadian Nickel
The 2020 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 31.8 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2020
- Circulation mintage
- 31,752,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Plated steel
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 2020 Canadian Nickel worth?
With 31.8 million made, the 2020 Canadian Nickel is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins with full luster, recognized varieties and genuine errors interest collectors.
What would make yours worth more:
- Full uncirculated luster
- A recognized variety or genuine error
- Coins from a specimen or proof set
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2020 Canadian Nickel rare?
- No. 31.8 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2020 Canadian nickels were made?
- 31,752,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2020 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Plated steel. It weighs 3.95 g and measures 21.2 mm.
- Is the 2020 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.
The 2020 nickel in context
The 2020 mintage fell to 31,752,000, about a third of 2019, as cash use dropped during the pandemic. Design and metal match the years around it: plated steel, the Blunt portrait and the beaver. That is one of the lowest totals of the plated era, but the coin is still common. Worn pieces spend as five cents, while bright uncirculated ones are worth keeping.
How to recognize it
The 2020 Canadian Nickel is round, 21.2 mm across and plated steel.
2020 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2020 Canadian Nickel ranks 102nd lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2003 P Old Portrait Canadian Nickel (31.4 million); the next more common is the 1996 Canadian Nickel (36.7 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 8.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 159 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2020 output was 2.9 times fewer than 2019 and 2.2 times fewer than 2021.
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 273.7 million five cent coins across 5 dates and varieties; the 2020 Canadian Nickel accounts for 12% of that.
What to check on your 2020 Canadian Nickel
- Try a magnet. Plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2020 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Look for full luster and no scratches. Modern five cent coins only interest collectors in uncirculated condition or with a recognized variety.
Plated steel nickels (2000 to 2024)
To cut costs the Royal Canadian Mint moved the nickel to multi-ply plated steel, a steel core with thin layers of copper and nickel plated over it. Apart from a small number of 1999 test coins, coins dated 2000 were the first made this way. They carry a small P under the portrait, which stands for plated. They also stick to a magnet. Coins without the P were still struck alongside them in several years. From 2006 the Royal Canadian Mint's maple leaf logo began to replace the P as the mark on these coins.
Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait of Elizabeth II replaced Dora de Pédery-Hunt's in 2003. Several commemoratives broke up the beaver run: the 2002 Golden Jubilee double date, the 2005 return of the wartime Victory torch and the 2017 design for Canada's 150th. When the cent stopped being distributed in 2013, cash totals began to be rounded to the nearest five cents and the nickel became the smallest coin in everyday use. Coins dated 2023 brought the first portrait of Charles III, by Steven Rosati.
Almost every date here is face value. The ones to set aside are the 2000 P, the first steel issue at 2.3 million, the commemorative 2005 Victory and 2017 Canada 150 coins and any 2023 with the new king. For the early years check whether your coin has a P and test it with a magnet, because the plain and P coins are different metals. Charles III faces left, the opposite way from his mother.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 5 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2020 |
| Circulation mintage | 31,752,000 |
| Composition | Plated steel |
| Weight | 3.95 g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.