1923 Canadian Penny
The 1923 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 1.02 million made. Value band: collector premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1923
- Circulation mintage
- 1,019,002
- 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 1923 Canadian Penny worth?
With 1.02 million struck, the 1923 Canadian Penny ranks 8th 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 1923 Canadian Penny rare?
- Yes, by the standards of Canadian pennies. With 1.02 million struck, the 1923 Canadian Penny ranks 8th lowest of the 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties we track.
- How many 1923 Canadian pennies were made?
- 1,019,002 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1923 Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc). It weighs 3.24 g and measures 19.05 mm.
- Is the 1923 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 1923 penny in context
The 1923 is one of the two key dates of the George V small cent series. Only 1,019,002 were struck, the second lowest figure for any small cent, a few thousand above the 1925. The banks still had stock left from 1920 and 1921 and the economy was only slowly recovering from the postwar slump, so the mint had little reason to make more.
Collectors who grew up filling albums from pocket change knew the 1923 as one of the toughest holes to fill and it still has that reputation. The coins that survive are mostly well worn, since they circulated for decades before anyone thought to save them. A 1923 with sharp detail is a genuinely scarce coin. If you have one, handle it by the edges and store it in a holder that doesn't rub the surfaces. Finding one in an old jar or a relative's collection is a real highlight and it is the coin many people hope to see when they sort through old Canadian cents.
How to recognize it
George V's crowned bust by Bertram Mackennal is on the obverse with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP: around it. The reverse has two maple leaves on a single stem with ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and 1923 below. A 1923 cent measures 19.05 mm and weighs 3.24 g. The final 3 is the digit that matters, so look at it closely. A worn 1928 or 1933 can be confused with a 1923 and an 8 that has lost its left side can look like a 3. Good light and a magnifier are the best tools here.
1923 Canadian Penny by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1923 Canadian Penny ranks 8th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1925 Canadian Penny (1 million); the next more common is the 1892 Canadian Penny (1.2 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 1187 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 1923 output was 1.2 times fewer than 1922 and 1.6 times fewer than 1924.
Over the 1920s the Mint produced 61.7 million cents across 11 dates and varieties; the 1923 Canadian Penny accounts for 1.7% of that.
What to check on your 1923 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.
With about one million struck, the 1923 carries a collector premium in every grade, from worn to uncirculated. Coins with readable leaf veins are in strong demand and uncirculated pieces are scarce. Altered dates are a real concern for this key, so check the 3 carefully and look for signs of tooling or a date that seems out of line with the rest of the coin. A natural, even brown surface is the safest sign. If you think you have a nice one, a grading service will confirm authenticity and record the grade.
George V small cents, 1920 to 1936
In 1920 Canada replaced its big copper cent with a much smaller coin: 19.05 mm and 3.24 g, close in size to the cent used across the border. Some large cents dated 1920 were still struck before the change, so both sizes share the date. The small cent kept Mackennal's crowned George V and the corrected legend, but it got a new reverse with two maple leaves on a single stem, ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and the date below. The alloy stayed at 95.5% copper, 3% tin and 1.5% zinc.
The new coin was produced in huge numbers at first: more than fifteen million small cents in 1920 and over seven million in 1921. That left plenty in stock and output collapsed for the next five years. The mintages for 1922 to 1926 run from about one million to two million, with 1923 and 1925 the lowest. Those years are the keys of the whole small cent series. Output recovered in the late 1920s, dipped again to about 2.5 million in 1930 as the Depression set in, then jumped past 21 million in 1932.
George V died in January 1936. Cents dated 1936 still carry his portrait, because Edward VIII's coins were never issued in Canada. Cents dated 1936 with a small dot below the date were struck in early 1937 while dies for George VI were not ready, yet only a few are known today. For anything from 1922 to 1926, check the date with a magnifier, since key dates attract altered coins. Wear shows first on the crown and the leaf veins.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1923 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,019,002 |
| Composition | Bronze (95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 3.24 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1923 Canadian cent rare?
Yes. With 1,019,002 struck it is one of the two key dates of the George V small cent series, alongside the 1925. It draws a collector premium even in worn condition.
How can you tell if a 1923 cent is genuine?
Check the final 3 under magnification for tool marks or a shape that doesn't match the other digits. Altered 1928 and 1933 dates are the usual concern. If in doubt, a grading service can authenticate it.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.