2023 Canadian Nickel
The 2023 Canadian Nickel is a Canadian nickel struck for circulation with 28.4 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2023
- Circulation mintage
- 28,422,000
- 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 2023 Canadian Nickel worth?
With 28.4 million made, the 2023 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 2023 Canadian Nickel rare?
- No. 28.4 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2023 Canadian nickels were made?
- 28,422,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2023 Canadian Nickel made of?
- Plated steel. It weighs 3.95 g and measures 21.2 mm.
- Is the 2023 Canadian Nickel still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian 5-cent coins are legal tender.
The 2023 nickel in context
Elizabeth II died in September 2022 after seventy years on the throne. Her son became Charles III and the Royal Canadian Mint prepared a new effigy for Canadian coins. Coins dated 2023 are the first to carry it. The mint struck 28,422,000 nickels dated 2023, a smaller total than the 83,328,000 of 2022 or the 61,824,000 of 2024. Preparing a new effigy takes time, since every denomination needs new tools.
The new portrait was the first change of monarch on Canada's coins since 1953. That means many Canadians had never seen any face other than Elizabeth's on a nickel, so the switch caught attention. The beaver stayed on the reverse, linking the new reign to more than eighty years of tradition. For collectors the 2023 is a first year coin of a new king, which always draws interest. Because the mintage is lower than the years around it, it is also a coin worth keeping when you find one in change. It also starts a new chapter for collectors who enjoy first year coins.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Charles III by Steven Rosati, a Canadian artist. The king is uncrowned and faces left, following the custom that each new monarch faces the opposite way to the one before. Elizabeth II faced right on her coins. The reverse is the Kruger Gray beaver on a rock, with CANADA above and 5 CENTS below. The coin is round and struck in multi-ply plated steel, so it sticks to a magnet. Rosati's portrait shows the king in a simple, uncrowned style, close to how many people picture him today. The size and weight match recent plated nickels. Unlike the coins of the 1980s and 1990s, it is not cupronickel.
2023 Canadian Nickel by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2023 Canadian Nickel ranks 99th lowest of 161 Canadian nickel dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1966 Canadian Nickel (28 million); the next more common is the 2001 Canadian Nickel (30 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Nickel with 278.5 million, about 9.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Nickel with 200,000, 142 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2023 output was 2.9 times fewer than 2022 and 2.2 times fewer than 2024.
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 273.7 million five cent coins across 5 dates and varieties; the 2023 Canadian Nickel accounts for 10% of that.
What to check on your 2023 Canadian Nickel
- Try a magnet. Plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2023 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.
The 2023 is common in circulated grades and usually holds face value, but it is a good coin to keep as the first year of Charles III. Uncirculated examples from mint sets have the best surfaces. Look for clean plating and a sharp portrait. Check the portrait, since some 2023 coins made only for collector sets and rolls show Elizabeth II with the dates 1952 2022. A nickel with both a sharp portrait and an undamaged beaver is the one to keep. Store it in a holder if you want to preserve it for the future.
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 | 2023 |
| Circulation mintage | 28,422,000 |
| Composition | Plated steel |
| Weight | 3.95 g |
| Diameter | 21.2 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Who is on the 2023 nickel?
King Charles III, in a portrait by Canadian artist Steven Rosati. He faces left, the opposite direction to his mother Elizabeth II, following the long tradition of alternating the direction of each new monarch.
Will the beaver change with the new king?
Not so far. The beaver by George Edward Kruger Gray has stayed on the reverse of the 2023 and 2024 nickels. Only the obverse portrait has changed for the new reign.
Mintage figures: Nickel (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.