1997 Round Canadian Penny
The 1997 Round Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 549.9 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1997
- Circulation mintage
- 549,868,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Copper-plated zinc (98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating)
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 1997 Round Canadian Penny worth?
With 549.9 million made, the 1997 Round 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 1997 Round Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 549.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1997 Round Canadian pennies were made?
- 549,868,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1997 Round Canadian Penny made of?
- Copper-plated zinc (98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating). It weighs 2.25 g and measures 19.05 mm.
- Is the 1997 Round 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 1997 penny in context
In 1997 the cent returned to a round shape after fifteen years of the 12-sided design. It also changed metal: instead of solid bronze, it was now made of zinc with a thin copper plating, weighing 2.25 g. A total of 549,868,000 were struck. The change came because the price of copper had made solid bronze cents too costly to produce.
The new cent looked almost the same as the old round bronze coins of the 1970s, but the metal inside was very different. Zinc is lighter and cheaper than copper and the thin plating gave the coin the familiar color. The 1997 marked the start of a period of experiment with the cent's metal: plated steel followed on coins dated 2002 and for years zinc and steel cents were made side by side. For collectors, the 1997 is the first round zinc cent and it makes a good pair with the last 12-sided coin of 1996. It is common, but its place as a transition coin gives it some interest.
How to recognize it
Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned queen faces right on the 1997 cent, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse is Kruger Gray's maple twig with CANADA, 1 CENT and 1997. The coin is round and weighs 2.25 g, made of 98.4% zinc with 1.6% copper plating. It is not magnetic. If the plating is scratched or worn through, the gray zinc underneath will show, which is a sign of the new composition. Weight is another check: at 2.25 g it is lighter than any earlier Canadian cent, a full quarter gram under the 12-sided bronze coin of 1996. The portrait is the same crowned effigy used since 1990.
1997 Round Canadian Penny by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1997 Round Canadian Penny ranks 120th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 2010 Canadian Penny (486.2 million); the next more common is the 2003 P Uncrowned Canadian Penny (591.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 2.2 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 1306 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1997 output was 1.2 times the 1996 figure and 1.8 times fewer than 1998.
Over the 1990s the Mint produced 6.82 billion cents across 10 dates and varieties; the 1997 Round Canadian Penny accounts for 8.1% of that.
What to check on your 1997 Round Canadian Penny
- Try a magnet: a genuine 1997 Round Canadian Penny is plated zinc and does not stick.
- Confirm the variety: round. 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; bright original 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 549 million struck, the 1997 is common and worn coins are face value. Red uncirculated 1997 cents are easy to locate. Its appeal is as the first round zinc cent and many collectors pair it with a 1996 12-sided cent. Zinc cents are prone to corrosion and bubbling if the plating is damaged, so look for coins with intact plating and no spots. A coin with full red color and smooth plating is the best choice for a set.
Crowned and uncrowned portraits, 1990 to 2003
Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen arrived in 1990, making her the first Canadian artist to design the royal effigy for Canada's coins. In 1992 cents carried the double date 1867-1992 for the 125th anniversary of Confederation. The 12-sided shape ended after 1996. From 1997 the cent was round again and made of zinc with a thin copper plating, 2.25 g, as the price of copper made a solid bronze coin too costly. Cents dated 2002 carry 1952-2002 for the Golden Jubilee of the queen's accession.
Copper-plated steel arrived on circulation cents dated 2002. These are marked with a small P for plated and weigh 2.35 g and for several years zinc and steel coins were made side by side. In 2003, fifty years after the coronation, Susanna Blunt's portrait replaced de Pédery-Hunt's. It shows the queen without a crown and it stayed on the cent until production ended. That gives 2003 four distinct types: crowned without a P, crowned with a P, uncrowned without a P and uncrowned with a P.
The useful checks here are the portrait, the shape and a magnet. A 12-sided coin is from 1996 or earlier. A P under the portrait means plated steel and a fridge magnet will pick those up while zinc cents ignore it. On 2003 coins, look at the queen's head first: a crown or bare hair tells you which portrait you have. Mintages are huge, apart from a few short runs in 2003, so almost every coin here is face value unless it is a variety in sharp condition.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1997 |
| Circulation mintage | 549,868,000 |
| Composition | Copper-plated zinc (98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating) |
| Weight | 2.25 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Frequently asked questions
Why did the Canadian penny become round again in 1997?
In 1997 the cent switched from solid bronze to copper-plated zinc and the shape returned to round at the same time. The 12-sided design had run from 1982 to 1996.
Is the 1997 Canadian cent made of copper?
Only on the surface. It is 98.4% zinc with a thin copper plating making up 1.6%. It weighs 2.25 g and is not magnetic, unlike the plated steel cents made from 2002.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.