The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. It became the smallest-valued coin in the currency upon the discontinuation of the penny in 2013.
History
The first coinage minted for what would later become the Canadian Confederation originated in legislation enacted in 1853. Per the Act 16 Vict. c. 158, the Province of Canada was to issue "dollars, cents, and mills" that would co-circulate with British shillings and pence. This law eventually came to fruition five years later in 1858 when new coins were ordered to improve the Canadian monetary system. Five-cent coins in particular were struck during this year in a sterling silver alloy, had a diameter of 15.5 mm, and weighed 17.93 grains per piece. Five-cent coins dated 1870 were all struck at the Royal Mint in London with the same weight and diameter as their 1858 counterparts.
Types and specifications
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! colspan="5" |Definitive types
|-----
!Image
!Years
!Mass
!Diameter
! class="unsortable"| Notes
|-
| 1858
|
| This figure includes the small date, and large date over small date varieties.
|-
| 1870
|
| No "": The words "" were removed from the obverse of the coin to make room for "" (Emperor of India). It was restored in 1912 after public backlash.
|-
| 1912
| 5,863,170
| With "": The wording was restored to the obverse of the coin around the king's bust.
|-
| 1913
| 5,588,048