by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: February 10, 2009   Last Updated: March 18, 2009

Appearing in 1858 the first Canadian five cent piece was given the distinction of being the tiniest Canadian coin minted. Called fish scales because of their tiny size, this Canadian five cent sterling silver piece weighed in at around one gram in weight, and measured around 15.5 mm in size. It featured the image of crossed maple boughs from 1858 thru till 1921. These early silver 5 cent coins were indeed about the size of a fish's scale.

In 1922 the Canadian five cent coin under went a dramatic change in it's appearance and composition. It increased in its dimensions to 21.21 mm in size and saw its weight increase to 4.54 grams. The composition of the Canadian 5 cent piece also changed, it went from being comprised largely of precious silver, to being manufactured with a ninety-nine percent composition of the much more reasonably priced metal, nickel. The image on this new version of Canada's five cent piece also changed from two crossed maple boughs to the image of two maple leaves. In 1937 the industrious beaver was added to the Canadian five cent piece, and it is this rendering of the beaver, that was to become the image most recognised as representing the Canadian nickel. The image itself was designed by G.E. Kruger-Gray.

In 1942 Canada's five cent coin gave the ultimate sacrifice and donated it's nickel to the current war effort. From 1942 through to 1946 the Canadian 5 cent coin was made of a specially prepared brass known as Tombac. A little known fact about these "Canadian war nickels" is that from 1943 to 1945 these five cent coins had a special morse code message engraved around the outer edge of each piece minted during this period. The message when deciphered read, "We win when we work willingly". A victory symbol also graced each of these wartime nickels and they came to be referred to as "Victory Coins". In 2005 a special anniversary nickel was introduced once again featuring this same victory symbol and celebrating the sixtieth year after the end of World War ll.

In 1951 a very special five cent piece was introduced, to celebrate Canada as the worlds largest producer of nickel, this coin featured a nickel refinery on its flip side. This image was designed by Stephan Trenka.

In 1967 the Canadian centennial five cent coin featured a hopping rabbit on its flip side. This image was designed by Alex Colville.

Monarchs have graced one side of all Canadian coins minted at the Royal Canadian Mint since 1908 and the Canadian Nickel is no exception to this rule. Between 1902 and 1910 the image of Edward Vll was displayed; from 1911 to 1936 it was the image of George V; from 1937 to 1952 it was George V1 who was displayed; and from 1953 to present day it is the image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth that appears on each canadian nickel.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/

http://www.mi nt.ca

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