1930 Canadian Penny
The 1930 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 2.54 million made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1930
- Circulation mintage
- 2,538,613
- Value band
- Small 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 1930 Canadian Penny worth?
At 2.54 million, the 1930 Canadian Penny has a smaller run than most Canadian pennies, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 1930 Canadian Penny rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian pennies. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 1930 Canadian pennies were made?
- 2,538,613 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1930 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 1930 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 1930 penny in context
The Depression hit cent production hard. In 1929 the mint struck over twelve million cents, but in 1930 the figure dropped to 2,538,613. As the economy shrank, people spent less and the banks had more than enough small change, so the mint simply made fewer coins. The cut was sudden: one year the cent was being made at its fastest pace since 1920, the next at one of the slowest.
That makes the 1930 one of the scarcer dates outside the famous run of the 1920s. It does not have the reputation of the 1923 or 1925, but it is noticeably harder to find than the dates around it. The 1931 was also low at 3.8 million, before production jumped to over 21 million in 1932. For collectors, the 1930 is a coin that rewards a careful look. It is often overlooked by people who only know the 1920s keys and a sharp one is a nice find. It is also a small reminder of how closely the mintage figures follow the country's economic history.
How to recognize it
Mackennal's crowned George V fills the obverse of the 1930 cent, ringed by GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse has two maple leaves on a stem, ONE CENT between them, CANADA above and 1930 below. Size and weight for the 1930 cent are 19.05 mm and 3.24 g. The date is the only thing that separates it from other George V small cents, so check the 3 and the 0 carefully. A worn 1936 or 1920 can look similar and the 3 is the digit to focus on. Its open curves are easy to confuse with a worn 8, so compare it against the 9 in the same date.
1930 Canadian Penny by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1930 Canadian Penny ranks 27th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1904 Canadian Penny (2.5 million); the next more common is the 1900 H Canadian Penny (2.6 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 476 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 6 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1930 output was 4.8 times fewer than 1929 and 1.5 times fewer than 1931.
Over the 1930s the Mint produced 113.1 million cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1930 Canadian Penny accounts for 2.2% of that.
What to check on your 1930 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.
At about 2.5 million, the 1930 draws a small premium in worn grades and a collector premium in better condition. Coins with full leaf veins and sharp crown detail are in demand and uncirculated red coins are scarce. The 1930 is a good example of a date where condition matters as much as rarity. Spots and verdigris are common on small cents of this age, so look the surface over before you buy. A natural brown coin with honest wear is usually the best choice for a date set.
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 | 1930 |
| Circulation mintage | 2,538,613 |
| 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
Why is the 1930 Canadian cent scarce?
The Depression reduced demand for coins and the mint struck only 2,538,613 cents in 1930, compared with over twelve million in 1929. That makes it one of the scarcer small cents outside the 1920s keys.
Is a 1930 cent worth more than face value?
Yes. It draws a small premium even when worn and a collector premium in better grades. Sharp coins with clear leaf veins and original color are the ones collectors look for most.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.