1967 Canadian Penny
The 1967 Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 345.1 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1967
- Circulation mintage
- 345,140,645
- 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 1967 Canadian Penny worth?
With 345.1 million made, the 1967 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 1967 Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 345.1 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1967 Canadian pennies were made?
- 345,140,645 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1967 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 1967 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 1967 penny in context
For Canada's centennial, the regular designs on every circulating coin were replaced for one year. Alex Colville, one of the country's best known painters, created all six reverses. For the cent he chose a rock dove in flight. The maple twig that had been on the cent since 1937 was set aside for 1967 only and the dates 1867 and 1967 appeared on the coin to mark a hundred years since Confederation.
A total of 345,140,645 centennial cents were struck and they circulated widely across the country during the celebrations, including the year of Expo 67 in Montreal. Colville's other designs included a rabbit on the 5 cent piece, a mackerel on the 10 cent, a bobcat on the 25 cent, a wolf on the 50 cent and a Canada goose on the dollar. The dove cent is the most familiar of the set because so many were made and people saved them as souvenirs of the year. The maple twig returned in 1968, so the dove remains the only regular Canadian cent between 1937 and 2012 without it.
How to recognize it
The reverse shows a rock dove with wings spread in flight, with CANADA, 1 CENT and the dates 1867 and 1967. The design is simple and modern for its time, with plenty of open space around the bird. The obverse carries Arnold Machin's portrait of the queen wearing a tiara, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The coin is 19.05 mm and weighs 3.24 g, the same as other cents of the period. There are no varieties of note, so the double date and the dove are all you need to identify it. With no maple leaf anywhere on the reverse, the coin is recognizable at a glance in a pile of change.
1967 Canadian Penny by the numbers
In mintage terms the 1967 Canadian Penny ranks 110th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1969 Canadian Penny (335.2 million); the next more common is the 2011 Magnetic Canadian Penny (361.4 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 3.5 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 820 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1967 output was 1.9 times the 1966 figure and about the same as 1968.
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 2.71 billion cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1967 Canadian Penny accounts for 13% of that.
What to check on your 1967 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.
With more than 345 million struck, the 1967 dove cent is common and worn coins are face value. Uncirculated red coins draw a small premium and they are easy to find because so many people saved them during the centennial. The mint also sold the centennial coins in sets and those coins usually have better surfaces than ones from change. A coin with full red color and no spots is the best choice. For most people the dove cent is a nice souvenir of 1967 and a one year design that belongs in any type collection.
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 | 1967 |
| Circulation mintage | 345,140,645 |
| Composition | Bronze (98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc) |
| Weight | 3.24 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Who designed the 1967 Canadian penny?
Alex Colville, the Canadian painter, designed the rock dove on the 1967 cent. He created the reverses for all six circulating centennial coins, from the rabbit on the 5 cent to the goose on the dollar.
Is the 1967 dove cent rare?
No. More than 345 million were struck for the centennial and many were saved. Worn coins are face value, while uncirculated red coins draw a small premium. It is a popular one year design.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.