Canadian One Cent Designs and Specifications


Reverse Designs

This page shows the major die designs since Canadian coins were introduced in 1858. It does NOT cover "die blunders", where dies were re-punched with different years (and the previous number is visible below the current number), or where cracks appeared in the dies causing unwanted lines to appear in the coin. It also does not cover date doubling or special coins created for the collector market. All of the coin designs displayed here were manufactured for general circulation as legal tender.

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1858-1882 (Provincial Leaves)
Reverse: The maple leaf wreath
This 1-cent coin features the design of Leonard C. Wyon of the Royal Mint. It portrays maple leaves wrapped around a vine.

The Provincial Reverse was used in 1858, 1859, 1876, 1881, and 1882. The thin vine and stems suffered almost immediate damage.

Note: A large number of subtle changes were made to the dies between 1858 and 1901. A summary of these varieties are discussed here:
Collecting Victorian Varieties by By Rob Turner FCNRS


1884-1891 (Large Leaves)
Reverse: The maple leaf wreath
This 1-cent coin features the design of Leonard C. Wyon of the Royal Mint. It portrays maple leaves wrapped around a vine, but the leaves are noticeably larger than in the Provincial version.

The 1884 Reverse was used in 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1890, and 1891.

The engraver made the leaves larger and thickened the vine and stems. The letters of the reverse legends were made courser.


1891-1901 (Small Leaves)
Reverse: The maple leaf wreath
This 1-cent coin features the design of G.W. DeSaulles of the Royal Mint. It portrays maple leaves wrapped around a vine.

The Small Leaves Reverse was used in 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, & 1901.

The engraver made the leaves much smaller. He maintained a thick vine, but engraved more delicate stems to the leaves.
Note that the 1891 coins are available in both Large Leaves and Small Leaves versions.


1902-1910
Edward VII

The Victorian Small Leaves design from 1891-1901 was carried forward into the new coinage issued after Queen Victoria passed away in 1901 and King Edward VII succeeded her.


1911-1920
Reverse: W.H.J. Blackmore designed this reverse of the 1-cent coin. The representation of maple leaves wrapped around a vine was kept.


1920-1936
Reverse: The two maple leaves
This design, created by Fred Lewis, coincided with a reduction in the 1-cent coin's diameter.


1937-1966, 1968-1981,
1997-2012

Reverse: The maple leaf twig (round coin)
In 1937, as part of an effort to modernize Canada's coins, G.E. Kruger-Gray created the maple leaf twig design. His initials appear on the right.


1947 Maple Leaf
In 1948, India was granted independance from the British Empire. Because of this, the words "ET IND IMP" (And Emperor of India) had to be removed from all obverse coin dies.
There was a demand for new 1948 coins, but delays in the manufacture of the updated dies forced the Mint into a second production run using the 1947 dies.
To differentiate regular 1947 coins from the second production run a small maple leaf was engraved to the right of the date on the reverse dies.


1967
Reverse: The centennial 1-cent coin
Alex Colville created a special set of coin designs to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation; the penny features a rock dove in flight.


1982-1996
Reverse: The maple leaf twig (12-sided coin)
The shape of G.E. Kruger-Gray's maple leaf twig design was altered to make identification easier for the visually impaired. The coin reverted to the round design in 1997.


1992 Canada 125
In 1992, a special edition circulation coin was issued to celebrate Canada's 125th anniversary. The date was changed to read "1867-1992".


1997-2012
Reverse: The maple leaf twig (round coin)
The shape of G.E. Kruger-Gray's maple leaf twig design was reverted to the round design in 1997.


2002 Golden Jubilee
In 2002, a special edition circulation coin was issued to celebrate the golden anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ascension to the throne.
The date was moved to the obverse side of the coin.


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