1900 Canadian Penny
The 1900 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 1 million made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1900
- Circulation mintage
- 1,000,000
- Value band
- Collector premium
- Composition
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc)
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 1900 Canadian Penny worth?
With 1 million struck, the 1900 Canadian Penny ranks 6th lowest of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties 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:
- Original red color rather than brown
- Sharp detail in the portrait and leaves
- 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 1900 Canadian Penny rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian pennies. With 1 million struck, the 1900 Canadian Penny ranks 6th lowest of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties we track.
- How many 1900 Canadian pennies were made?
- 1,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1900 Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc). It weighs 5.67 g and measures 25.4 mm.
- Is the 1900 Canadian Penny still legal tender?
- Yes. The Royal Canadian Mint stopped distributing cents in 2013, but they remain legal tender. Cash payments are rounded to the nearest five cents, so most pennies now sit in jars or go to banks.
The 1900 penny in context
In 1900 both of Canada's suppliers struck cents. The Royal Mint in London produced one million coins with no mint mark and the Heaton mint in Birmingham struck 2.6 million marked with an H. That makes the plain 1900 the scarcer of the two by a wide margin, which surprises people who assume the coin with the mint mark is always the special one. Both versions share the same portrait, size and weight, so the H is the only quick way to tell them apart.
These were among the last cents struck while Victoria was alive. She died in January 1901, though cents dated 1901 still carried her portrait because new dies took time to prepare. The London 1900 also closes out the small group of one million mintage Victorian dates, along with 1890-H, 1894 and 1898-H. Many collectors put the two 1900 coins side by side in their sets, since the pair neatly shows how Canada relied on two separate English mints for its coinage before the Ottawa branch opened in 1908. It is also a handy test of how carefully you read a coin, since the scarce version is defined by something that isn't there.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Victoria wearing a diadem, framed by VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA. The reverse has ONE CENT and 1900 inside a beaded circle with a vine of maple leaves around the rim. What matters is what you don't see: the London coin has no letter below the date. Before deciding you have one, look carefully under a strong light, since a worn H can be faint and partly hidden by dirt. If there is truly nothing there and the area is clean and smooth, you have the scarcer London strike. Size and weight are the same for both: 25.4 mm and 5.67 g.
1900 Canadian Penny by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1900 Canadian Penny ranks 6th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1898 H Canadian Penny (1 million); the next more common is the 1925 Canadian Penny (1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 1209 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 2.4 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1900 output was 2.4 times fewer than 1899 and 4.1 times fewer than 1901. Other 1900 cents: 1900 H Canadian Penny (2.6 million).
Over the 1900s the Mint produced 32.9 million cents across 12 dates and varieties; the 1900 Canadian Penny accounts for 3.0% of that.
What to check on your 1900 Canadian Penny
- Check the color. Collectors describe copper cents as red, red-brown or brown; original red color is worth far more than toned or dull surfaces.
- Never clean it. Rubbing, polishing or dipping leaves fine scratches and an unnatural color that collectors spot at once.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the lettering. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older cents.
The plain 1900 carries a collector premium at every grade because of its one million mintage, while the 1900-H is a more ordinary date with a small premium in worn condition. That gap makes the no H coin a target for tampering, so be wary of any 1900 where the area under the date looks scraped or smoothed. Coins with natural brown surfaces and clear leaf veins are the ones collectors want. Original red uncirculated examples are very scarce. A grading service will confirm the mint and the condition if you think you have a high grade piece.
Victoria large cents of the Dominion, 1876 to 1901
Confederation in 1867 created the Dominion of Canada, but it took nine more years before the new country needed cents of its own, because the province's 1859 stock was still being paid out. The first Dominion cents are dated 1876. They kept the 25.4 mm size and the familiar reverse of ONE CENT and the date in a beaded circle surrounded by a maple vine, but the coin got heavier: 5.67 g, one eightieth of a pound. Victoria now appears older, wearing a diadem, with the legend VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA.
Canada still had no mint, so the cents came from England. The Royal Mint in London struck most years, while the private Heaton mint in Birmingham handled several orders and marked them with a small H below the date. The H years are 1876, 1881, 1882, 1890, 1898 and 1900 and 1900 was struck at both mints. Production was irregular. There are no cents dated 1877 to 1880, 1883, 1885 or 1889 and yearly mintages swing between one million and about four million.
Start by reading the date and checking for the H, because that pairing identifies the issue. The lowest mintages of the reign are the one million coin years: 1890-H, 1894, 1898-H and 1900 without an H. Those draw a collector premium even when worn. The four million dates such as 1876-H, 1882-H and 1888 are the easiest to find. These coins circulated for decades, so most are smooth. Sharp leaf veins, visible strands of hair and natural brown or red color are what separate a collector's coin from an ordinary one.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1900 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,000,000 |
| Composition | Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 5.67 g |
| Diameter | 25.4 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 1900 Canadian pennies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 H Canadian Penny | 2,600,000 | Small premium |
Frequently asked questions
Which 1900 Canadian cent is rarer, with or without the H?
The one without the H. The Royal Mint in London struck one million, while the Heaton mint in Birmingham struck 2.6 million marked with an H. The plain 1900 draws far more collector interest.
Why does a 1901 cent still show Queen Victoria?
Victoria died in January 1901 and new dies with Edward VII's portrait were not ready that year. Cents dated 1901 used her portrait and Edward's first Canadian cents are dated 1902.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.