1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny
The 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 911 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1982
- Circulation mintage
- 911,001,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% 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 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny worth?
With 911 million made, the 1982 12-Sided 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 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 911 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1982 12-Sided Canadian pennies were made?
- 911,001,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny made of?
- Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc). It weighs 2.5 g and measures 19.1 mm, with a 12-sided shape.
- Is the 1982 12-Sided 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 1982 penny in context
In 1982 the Canadian cent changed shape for the first time. The new coin was 12-sided and weighed 2.5 g, down from 2.8 g, saving metal at a time of high copper prices. The distinctive shape also made the cent easy to recognize by touch, which helped people with limited vision tell it apart from other coins. A total of 911,001,000 were struck in the first year.
The 12-sided cent lasted from 1982 to 1996, a span of fifteen years, before the round shape returned with the switch to plated zinc in 1997. The design on both sides did not change in 1982: Machin's tiara portrait on the obverse, Kruger Gray's maple twig on the reverse. The difference is all in the outline. Many Canadians remember the 12-sided cent as the coin of their childhood and it remained in circulation alongside the newer round coins until production ended in 2012. For collectors, the 1982 is the first year of a distinctive type and it pairs neatly with the 1981 round cent to show the change.
How to recognize it
The obverse of the 1982 cent shows Arnold Machin's tiara portrait facing right, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse is Kruger Gray's maple twig with CANADA, 1 CENT and 1982. The coin has twelve flat sides around the edge, with the rim following the shape. It weighs 2.5 g. The 1982 cent is struck in 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc. The shape is easy to feel with a fingertip and the corners stay visible even after years of wear. Measured across, the coin is about the same size as the round cents before it, so it fits the same coin slots and rolls. That continuity is part of why the change went so smoothly in everyday use.
1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny ranks 142nd lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 2006 Mint Logo Canadian Penny (886.3 million); the next more common is the 1978 Canadian Penny (911.2 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 1.3 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 2164 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1982 output was 1.3 times fewer than 1981 and about the same as 1983.
Over the 1980s the Mint produced 8.69 billion cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny accounts for 10% of that.
What to check on your 1982 12-Sided Canadian Penny
- Confirm the variety: 12-sided. 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 more than 900 million struck, the 1982 is common and worn coins are face value. A 1982 cent with full mint red may bring a small premium. Its appeal is as the first 12-sided cent, so type collectors often want a nice example. The 12-sided cents are easy to sort out of a jar of mixed change, which makes them fun for new collectors putting together a run from 1982 to 1996. Look for full red color and sharp edges on the twelve sides, since wear rounds the corners over time.
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 | 1982 |
| Circulation mintage | 911,001,000 |
| Composition | Bronze (98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc) |
| Weight | 2.5 g |
| Diameter | 19.1 mm |
| Shape | 12-sided |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Why was the Canadian penny 12-sided?
The 12-sided cent, introduced in 1982, used less metal than the round coin and was easy to identify by touch, which helped people with limited vision. It was used from 1982 to 1996.
How many 1982 12-sided cents were made?
The records give 911,001,000 for circulation. It was the first year of the 12-sided cent and one of the high mintage years of the period, so worn coins are face value.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.