1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny
The 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 304.4 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1965
- Circulation mintage
- 304,441,082
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bronze (98% copper, 0.5% 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 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny worth?
With 304.4 million made, the 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny is common. A circulated one is worth face value. The cent is still legal tender even though the Mint stopped issuing it in 2013. Only coins with full original red color, a recognized variety or a genuine error interest collectors.
What would make yours worth more:
- Full original red color
- A recognized variety or a genuine mint 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 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 304.4 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1965 Large Beads Canadian pennies were made?
- 304,441,082 were struck for circulation (a combined figure for the Large Beads and Small Beads varieties).
- What is the 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc). It weighs 3.24 g and measures 19.05 mm.
- Is the 1965 Large Beads 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 1965 penny in context
The year 1965 brought a new portrait to Canada's coins. Arnold Machin's effigy shows the queen wearing a tiara and it replaced Mary Gillick's laureate design across all denominations. The legend was shortened to ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. A total of 304,441,082 cents were struck that year and the published figure covers every variety of the date.
The new portrait came with changes in the dies during the year. Cents dated 1965 come with two sizes of beads in the ring around the rim, known to collectors as small beads and large beads. Specialists divide them further by the shape of the 5 in the date, which can be pointed or blunt. That gives four combinations and the large beads with a pointed 5 is generally rated the scarcest. Large beads coins with a blunt 5 are common. For most people the important thing is that 1965 has more varieties than any other cent of the period and that a quick look under magnification can sort them. It is the first year of the tiara portrait, which gives every 1965 cent some interest as a type coin.
How to recognize it
Arnold Machin's portrait shows the queen facing right, wearing a tiara, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA around it. The reverse is Kruger Gray's maple twig with CANADA, 1 CENT and 1965. Expect 19.05 mm and 3.24 g on a genuine 1965 large beads cent. To identify the large beads variety, look at the ring of beads around the rim. On large beads coins they are visibly bigger, which is easiest to judge with a small beads coin beside it. Then compare the 5 in the date with reference photos of the pointed and blunt versions. Attribute on a sharp coin if you can, because wear softens both features.
1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny by the numbers
The published 304,441,082 for 1965 covers both the Large Beads and Small Beads varieties together, so neither can be ranked on its own. As a date, 1965 sits 105th lowest among Canadian penny dates by output.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1965 output was 1.6 times fewer than 1964 and 1.7 times the 1966 figure. Other 1965 cents: 1965 Small Beads Canadian Penny.
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 2.71 billion cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny accounts for 11% of that.
What to check on your 1965 Large Beads Canadian Penny
- Confirm the variety: large beads. Use a magnifier and compare with a reference picture before you assume you have the scarcer one.
- 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.
With hundreds of millions struck, worn 1965 cents are face value coins whichever bead size they have. The interest lies in uncirculated coins and in the varieties. The large beads, pointed 5 combination draws a collector premium, while the large beads, blunt 5 is common. Since all four combinations share one published mintage, nobody knows the exact split. If you have a large beads coin, check the 5 carefully before setting it aside and use reference photos to confirm the shape. A grading service can attribute the variety for a coin you plan to keep.
Tiara portrait, centennial dove and 12-sided cents, 1965 to 1989
In 1965 Arnold Machin's portrait replaced Gillick's. The queen now wears a tiara and the legend is shortened to ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The first year produced well known varieties: the beads around the rim come in large and small sizes and specialists also sort the date by a pointed or blunt 5. For 1967 alone, Canada's centennial, Alex Colville's rock dove in flight replaced the maple twig, with the dates 1867 and 1967. The twig returned in 1968.
The cent changed physically several times in this period as copper prices rose. In 1978 the alloy became 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc. In 1980 the coin was made thinner, dropping from 3.24 g to 2.8 g. In 1982 it became 12-sided at 2.5 g, a shape that also makes the cent easy to tell apart by touch. Production reached levels never seen before: 1981 topped 1.2 billion coins, the highest cent mintage in Canadian records. Most years of the 1970s and 1980s ran well into the hundreds of millions.
Nearly every coin in this group is common, so the interesting ones are about design and variety. Check 1965 coins for bead size, keep 1967 doves aside as a one year design and notice the shape: round to 1981, 12-sided from 1982. Weight helps with 1979 to 1981, since the lighter 1980 and 1981 coins are thinner. Worn coins are face value. Bright red uncirculated coins draw a small premium at most and the strongest interest goes to recognized varieties.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1965 |
| Circulation mintage | 304,441,082 (with the Small Beads variety) |
| Composition | Bronze (98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 3.24 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 1965 Canadian pennies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 Small Beads Canadian Penny | 304,441,082 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
What are the 1965 Canadian cent varieties?
There are small beads and large beads, named for the beads around the rim. Each comes with a pointed or blunt 5. The large beads, pointed 5 is generally rated the scarcest of the four.
How many 1965 large beads cents were made?
No separate figure exists for the 1965 large beads cent. The records give 304,441,082 for all 1965 cents, covering both bead sizes and both 5 shapes together, so the share of each variety is unknown.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.