Canadian Silver Coin Calculator

The Canadian spot silver price was last updated on 10/6/2017 9:59:25 PM GMT.

An important fact to remember about the calculator is it measures a coin or coins silver value content, not its numismatic value. Rare or better conditioned coins will always exceed their silver melt value.

History of Canadian Silver Coins

In the 1850's, various British colonies in what would become present-day Canada began to strike their own coins. These would be based on a decimalized system like the neighboring United States as opposed to Pounds used by other colonies.

The process of colonies producing coins would continue until 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was created with a national Canadian currency soon following. As additional colonies entered confederation, they dropped their colonial currency in favor of the national versions.

Silver coins previous to 1920 were struck from sterling silver (.925). They were replaced by 80% silver versions which were issued until 1967. That year saw the strikes change again to a 50% composition only to be replaced after two years by base metal versions.

While becoming less common, it is still possible to find silver composition coins in circulation in Canada. Many more, however, are in the hands of investors and collectors.

Investors hold on to the silver coins for their precious metal content. As each is struck from a known amount of silver, it is relatively easy to determine their melt value based on recent market levels -- especially with the Canadian Silver Coin Calculator above.

What to Know About Canadian Silver Coin Calculator

Collectors typically understand the importance of the melt value, but also look at the silver coins as important parts of their collections. This can be especially true of those strikes which originally featured low mintages or those coins in excellent condition as they can attain numismatic values far exceeding any melt values associated with them.

If you have older Canadian silver coins in your possession, it is important to do your homework to determine the appropriate values associated with them. Take for instance any 1967 Canadian silver coin which may be struck from either 80% or 50% of the precious metal. Misidentification could lead to either under or overvaluation of the coins.

Also, as previously mentioned, melt values may not be the best value associated with a certain strike. Proper identification will help to determine if a specific coin has a higher numismatic value associated with it. If in doubt, seek the help of a professional.