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Canadian commerative 5-cent coins

During WWII, many metals were in high demand, and nickel was scarce. The Royal Canadian Mint was no longer able to obtain nickel blanks as previously, and was forced to look at other options. After considering the alternatives, it was decided the make the five cent coins of tombac (a brass alloy consisting of 88% copper, 12% zinc). Because the metal had a tendency to tone to a darker brown color, it was decided that the coin be made dodecagonal (12-sided), like the British brass threepence of the day (first issued in 1937). The chosen design for 1943 had a central design of the letter "V", standing for both "victory", and as the Roman numeral for the number five. A torch was also in the center, with "Canada" in block letters along the top of the coin, and "cents" below, also in block letters. The word "cents" is flanked by a maple leaf on each side. The date is in the center-left and center-right of the coin, bisected by the "V", with 2 digits on each side. Along the rim in place of denticles is the phrase "We Win When We Work Willingly" in international code. From 1922 until early 1942, the nickel blanks for the 5-cent pieces were obtained from outside the mint. However, the mint made the tombac blanks itself, and along with the wartime demands for coinage, it proved to be too much for the mint to handle. They switched over to using steel blanks with a .0127mm nickel plating, and .0003mm of chromium plating in early 1944. At that time, the technology/costs did not allow for plating the blanks individually, so the strips from which the coins were punched out were plated. The result was that the edges were unplated, and many circulated examples of the steel "V" and torch type of 1944-45 are found with rusty edges.

1951- 200^th anniversary of the discovery of nickel commemorative (KM#48)

1951 was the 200^th anniversary of the discovery and naming of the element nickel by the Swedish chemist A. F. Cronstedt. Canada is the world's largest producer and exporter of this metal by far, so it would make sense that they celebrate this occasion. The 5-cent piece was chosen for the commemorative, fittingly as it was the only Canadian coin made of nickel. An open competition was held to design the coin, and there were over 10,000 entries. Stephen Trenka's design depicting a nickel refinery with a smokestack in the middle was chosen. "Canada" is spelt across the top, to the left of the smokestack is "nickel 1751-1951 in 2 lines", to the right, "5 cents". Below the refinery is a trio of maple leaves. Many people hoarded this issue believing incorrectly that the date should have read 1851-1951, and that these "errors" would become valuable. The result is that nowadays, the 1951 commemorative 5-cent is most commonly found in very fine and higher grades.

1967- Canadian confederation centennial (KM#66)

1967 was the centennial of Canadian confederation. As in 1951, it was decided that the designs would be picked by means of an open competition. All six denominations were to have a commemorative reverse, and Alex Colville's designs of Canadian wildlife were picked as the winning designs. The 5-cent depcits a hopping rabbit, a symbol of promise and fertility. The denomination of 5 cents is along the top edge, and along the bottom edge is "Canada 1867-1967". This coin, along with the other circulating commemoratives of the year were quite popular, and many were saved in their original rolls. All circulation issue 1967 coins are double-dated "1867-1967"

1992- Canada 125 (KM#205)

A hundred and twenty-five years of confederation was celebrated in 1992. This time, the commemoratives were left to the 25-cent and 1 dollar coins, the remaining 1, 5 and 10-cent coins bore the regular reverses, with the date in smaller size reading "1867-1992", denoting the 125^th anniversary of Canada.

2002- QEII Gold Jubilee

The year 2002 marks 50 years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. For this occasion, the only "circulating" commemorative issued was the 50-cent piece, which was mass hoarded. The other denominations bore double dates, as in 1992, except this time, the dates were on the obverse, below the Queen's head. (After all, this is her celebration, so in would only make sense the dates be on the obverse.) This resulted in the reverse of these coins having a blank spot where the date normally would be.