The Scarce 1925 Canada Cent

Canadian small cent production in the mid-1920s was anything but prolific, thanks to economic malaise and the plentiful supply of earlier cents on hand already. This led to the run of Canada small cents from 1922 through 1927 seeing mintages of well under four million, and several of these dates recorded fewer than two million strikes. The lowest-mintage of the six dates here is the 1925, which saw just barely over one million coins – 1,000,652, to be precise. While most collectors may stop short of calling the 1925 Canada cent a “rarity” in the absolute sense, it is by every measure no less a semi-key coin. That’s certainly so when looking at that coin among the whole of the Canada small cent series, which ran from 1920 through 2012.

The 1920s Canadian cents on the whole look like a numismatic relic from another era, with their stately bust portrait of early 20th-century British monarch King George V. The reverse offers a rather simple device with the denomination “ONE CENT” and legend “CANADA” nestled in the center of the canvas amid two small maple leaves. It’s a coin unlike the Canadian small cents many came to know in later years, with more gracefully rendered busts and much larger rendering of the maple leaf – one of Canada’s most iconic symbols – on the reverse.

Looking at the 1925 Canada cent on the surface, it doesn’t seem that intimidating of a semi-key in lower to moderate circulated grades. It's value is around $30 in a F12. That’s nothing to sneeze at, but when one considers how relatively scarce the 1925 is that price looks rather affordable. However, those desiring a higher-grading example for, say, a PCGS Registry Set (Canadian small cents are popular on the Registry), will need to shell out more cash. A 1925 in the MS60BN to MS62BN range can easily set the collector back more than $150. Prices for a flashy MS65RB hover closer to $3,000.