2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny
The 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny is a one-cent coin struck for circulation with 88 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2012
- Circulation mintage
- 87,972,000
- 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 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny worth?
With 88 million made, the 2012 Non-Magnetic 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 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny rare?
- No. 88 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian pennies were made?
- 87,972,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2012 Non-Magnetic 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 2012 Non-Magnetic 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 2012 penny in context
The non-magnetic zinc cents of 2012 are the smaller of the two final runs: 87,972,000 coins, compared with 111,375,000 magnetic steel cents. Together they are the last Canadian cents. Production ended in May 2012 after the federal government decided the coin was no longer worth making and the Mint stopped distributing cents to banks on February 4, 2013.
The zinc composition had been in use since 1997 and for much of that time it ran alongside steel. In the final years the split varied a lot: in 2007 zinc was a tiny share, while in 2011 the two runs were much closer in size. In 2012 the zinc version made up a little over two fifths of the total. It carries the same designs as the steel coin: Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait and Kruger Gray's maple twig. Only a magnet or a precise scale can tell them apart. For people who want the full story of the last year, both versions belong together and the zinc one is the slightly harder of the two to find.
How to recognize it
The 2012 zinc cent carries Susanna Blunt's bareheaded portrait of the queen with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. Kruger Gray's maple twig, with CANADA, 1 CENT and the date, fills the reverse of the 2012 zinc cent. The coin is round, weighs 2.25 g and is copper-plated zinc, so it does not react to a magnet. The steel version sticks and weighs 2.35 g. To sort a pile of 2012 cents, run a magnet over them and set aside the ones that stay behind. A scale that reads to a hundredth of a gram can confirm the result if your magnet is weak. Clean, dry coins give the most accurate reading.
2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny ranks 89th lowest of 151 Canadian cent dates and varieties from 1858 to 2012. The next scarcer is the 1940 Canadian Penny (85.7 million); the next more common is the 1943 Canadian Penny (89.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 1981 Round Canadian Penny with 1.21 billion, about 14 times as many. The scarcest is the 1858 Canadian Penny with 421,000, 209 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2012 output was 3.4 times fewer than 2011. Other 2012 cents: 2012 Magnetic Canadian Penny (111.4 million).
Over the 2010s the Mint produced 1.35 billion cents across 5 dates and varieties; the 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny accounts for 6.5% of that.
What to check on your 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny
- Try a magnet: a genuine 2012 Non-Magnetic Canadian Penny is plated zinc and does not stick.
- Confirm the variety: non-magnetic (zinc). 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.
Worn 2012 zinc cents are face value. Uncirculated red coins draw a small premium and the last year status adds appeal. Collectors who want the final year complete usually keep one of each metal. Zinc cents can corrode where the plating is damaged, which shows as gray spots or small bubbles, so choose a coin with smooth, even plating. Store it dry in a holder and label it so the metal is recorded, since the two versions look the same. A matched pair of steel and zinc 2012 cents makes a neat keepsake.
Plated steel and the last cents, 2004 to 2012
By 2004 the cent was being made in two versions: copper-plated zinc at 2.25 g and copper-plated steel at 2.35 g. Steel coins carried a small P through 2006. That year the Royal Canadian Mint began placing its own logo on coins, so 2006 cents come with a P, with the logo or with no mark at all. From 2007 the useful way to sort them is with a magnet. Steel cents stick and zinc cents don't and the published mintages for several years split along those lines.
The design stayed the same throughout: Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait of the queen on one side and Kruger Gray's maple twig on the other. What changed was the economics. By then the cent had come to cost more than its face value to make. The federal government announced in 2012 that production would stop and the mint struck its final cent that May in Winnipeg. Banks stopped receiving new supplies after February 4, 2013, when the mint ceased distributing cents. Cash prices are now rounded to the nearest five cents, while electronic payments still settle to the cent.
Cents remain legal tender and huge numbers sit in jars across the country, so almost all of these coins are face value. The points worth checking are the magnet result and the date. Non-magnetic zinc coins from 2007 had a far smaller run than the steel ones and the split for 2009 is lopsided too. The last year, 2012, has two short runs, which gives the final cent a little extra appeal. Keep any bright uncirculated pieces separate, since those are what collectors want.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 1 cent |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2012 |
| Circulation mintage | 87,972,000 |
| Composition | Copper-plated zinc (98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating) |
| Weight | 2.25 g |
| Diameter | 19.05 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Plain |
Other 2012 Canadian pennies
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 Magnetic Canadian Penny | 111,375,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
How many 2012 non-magnetic cents were made?
The records give 87,972,000 for circulation, compared with 111,375,000 magnetic steel cents. Together they are the last Canadian cents, since production ended in May 2012 and was never restarted afterward by the Mint.
What is the difference between magnetic and non-magnetic 2012 cents?
Magnetic cents are copper-plated steel and weigh 2.35 g. Non-magnetic cents are copper-plated zinc and weigh 2.25 g. The designs are identical, so a magnet is the easiest way to tell them apart.
Mintage figures: Penny (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.