Part 2: Maple Leaf Cents for CAD
Introduction
A good alternative to USD Lincoln cents is CAD Maple Leaf cents. While not as common as Lincoln cents for many reasons (especially market reach and circulating supply), these Canadian coins are also a good source for copper content.
Assuming you have easy access (more or less) to Maple Leaf cents, the ideas presented in Part 1 for Lincoln cents for USD can be modified as needed. If access to Maple Leaf cents is more limited, still look out for copper-based Maple Leaf cents while focusing on whatever copper coins are accessible to you.
Given the extraordinarily long reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, several portraits of her have graced Canadian coinage since 1952. However, the Maple Leaf design for the cent started with her father, King George VI in 1937.
Why would faces of sovereigns of the United Kingdom grace Canadian coinage? Canada gained independence from the UK in 1867, becoming the Dominion of Canada. For that reason, UK sovereigns continue to be heads of state while heads of government are native Canadians elected by the people.
The table below shows relevant details for us regarding Maple Leaf cents:
| Obverse | Mint Dates | Weight | Composition | Copper |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George VI | 1937-1947 | 3.24 g | Bronze | 98% |
| George VI | 1948-1952 | 3.24 g | Bronze | 98% |
| Elizabeth II | 1953-1964 | 3.24 g | Bronze | 98% |
| Elizabeth II | 1965-1979 | 3.24 g | Bronze | 98% |
| Elizabeth II | 1980-1981 | 2.8 g | Bronze | 98% |
| Elizabeth II | 1982-1989 | 2.5 g | Bronze | 98% |
| Elizabeth II | 1990-1996 | 2.5 g | Bronze | 98% |
While more difficult to acquire outside of Canada and border towns south the Dominion, they are more commonly seen than pre-Lincoln cents in the U.S. Every year I find maybe ten Maple Leaf cents in my change or in rolls of cents I get from the bank. For comparison, in my entire life I've encountered 2 Indian Head cents in he same manner.
CAD Maple Leaf Cent versus USD Lincoln Cent
Between 1909 and 1981 (plus a few months into 1982), USD Lincoln cents had 95% copper content, weight remained stable at 3.11 g.
CAD Maple Leaf cents had a higher copper content than USD Lincoln cents (98% instead of 95%). However, Maple Leaf cents underwent decreases in weight:
- 3.24 g for 42 years from 1937 through 1979;
- 2.8 g for 2 years in 1980 and 1981; and
- 2.5 g for 14 years from 1982 through 1996.
CAD Maple Leaf cents were minted later than USD Lincoln cents; but while 1981 was the last full year that USD Lincoln cents were composed of 95% copper, 1996 was the final year that CAD Maple Leaf cents were composed of 98% copper.
USD Lincoln cents continue to be minted, and there's no sign of that stopping. CAD Maple Leaf cents, however, were last minted in 2015.
Just look at the math:
- 1 ounce copper = 28 grams
- 1 copper-based Maple Leaf cent (1937-1979) = 3.24 grams
- 1 copper-based Maple Leaf cent (1980-1981) = 2.8 grams
- 1 copper-based Maple Leaf cent (1982-1996) = 2.5 grams
So...
Maple Leaf cent (1937-1979)
28 grams | 1 cent
---------+----------- = 8.641975 cents/ounce
1 ounce | 3.24 grams
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maple Leaf cent (1980-1981)
28 grams | 1 cent
---------+----------- = 10 cents/ounce
1 ounce | 2.8 grams
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maple Leaf cent (1982-1996)
28 grams | 1 cent
---------+----------- = 11.2 cents/ounce
1 ounce | 2.5 grams
Each time the weight (technically, the mass) of the Maple Leaf cent was decreased, it took a higher quantity of Maple Leaf cents to equal 1 ounce (28 grams).
It is true that it was becoming more expensive to mint Maple Leaf cents with 98% copper content. Also true-- and left unsaid-- is the fact that the reduction of the weight amounted to a debasement of the currency. While USD Lincoln cents moved directly from copper to zinc in the middle of 1982, CAD Maple Leaf cents made 2 gradual reductions in copper weight until becoming zinc-dominated coins in 1997.
Distinguishing Copper Cents from Zinc Cents
Determining which Maple Leaf cents are copper cents is easy:
1996 and earlier -- 98% copper;
1997 through 2015 -- mainly zinc cents.
Sadly, in 2016, Maple Leaf cents disappeared as a feature of Canadian currency.
Where To Find Copper Cents
Pocket Change
In Part 1 of "How To Invest in Copper,", I said this about pocket change:
As long as we can still use cash, we'll still get change after we buy things. As long as we still get charged sales tax, items with nice round numbers will end up with crooked prices. Go through the pocket change and see what's worth keeping for copper content.
That hasn't changed. However, instead of mostly USD Lincoln cents every day, it's a small number of CAD Maple Leaf cents sporadically. Even then, there may be some CAD Maple Leaf cents dated 1997 or later. If you see those, perhaps you can spend them away, sell them to a coin dealer if you have them in bulk, or use them for arts and crafts.
Abandoned Change
Found money is still a good thing, even if it's currency from the country next to yours. As with USD Lincoln cents, make sure it's not associated with someone (as at a workplace).
Purchased Rolls
If you're in Canada, you're all set!
If you aren't in Canada, then it's more difficult to buy rolls of Maple Leaf cents.
Sites such as eBay may be the best bet, although shipping and handling fees may be high enough to put turn smiles into frowns.
Coin Dealers
Using coin dealers as a source for acquiring Maple Leaf cents hinges on the cost per coin. If the cost per coin acquired is low enough, make the buy. It may be necessary to make a bulk purchase to get a good cost per coin, and the bulk purchase may include coins from other countires; some of those coins may have good copper content, so it's still OK.
Online
Earlier I mentioned eBay, but but other online marketplaces could be used. If an online marketplace happens to be decentralized and using blockchain, try that one first before using more established places.
For online classifieds, Hivelist may have some ads for coins. If not, try the usual suspects.
Friends and Colleagues
For people outside Canada, this may be the best source for Maple Leaf cents. Even if you can find a couple of people who want to let you take them off their hands, that's more than what was available yesterday. More people would be at work than in a social group, so the chances of finding people who can give you Maple Leaf cents is greater.
Why Invest in Copper?
In Part 1 of "How To Invest in Copper,", this is what I said about buying copper:
Buying copper is definitely not a "get rich quick scheme." Most copper purchased is for industrial use and in massive quantities. For quantities of copper as measured in pounds, it may be better to get from from scrap; there are people who do well by making the rounds to gather scrap from obsolete machines or appliances, but that's a job in itself.
Most people don't have that kind of access to resources, financing, or time. So it's left to circulating currency to help us here.
In 1997, Maple Leaf cents started being minted as copper-plated coins of either zinc or steel. While there have been rumors about the demise of the USD Lincoln cent, the CAD Maple Leaf cent met its demise by the start of 2016. Although they are no longer being minted, Maple Leaf cents of all kinds remain in circulation and are still found Stateside.
Since Maple Leaf cents are considered demonitized coins, the following could be done with them:
- People who have sufficient quantities of Maple Leaf cents can sell them to a scrap yard for their melting price. If the scrap yard is local, it may even be possible to avoid costs associsted with travel and transportation.
- Melt or no melt, the Maple Leaf cents can be used for barter or exchange.
- For those of us talented in arts and crafts, it's possible to use these copper Maple Leaf cents to make items selling for dollars per unit (provided demand exists for the items, of course).
Why Use Maple Leaf Cents?
In Canada, saving Maple Leaf cents is similar to people Stateside saving Lincoln cents.
Outside Canada, Maple Leaf cents would be a good source of copper coins in relation to other copper coins in the wild, if not in circulation.
While not as accessible as USD Lincoln cents Stateside, CAD Maple Leaf cents remain accessible enough to be afterthoughts. So were silver CAD coins until 1968 turned into 1969.
At worst, Maple Leaf cents can always be swapped out for more acceptable money and then used to purchase small amounts of silver or cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency would be ideal for many reasons. Should there be circumstances requiring physical media of exchange, precious metals can take their rightful place. If precious metals are impractical for certain kinds of transactions, copper is still useful as both a medium of exchange and as a raw material.
Just as Bitcoin is the King of Cryptocurrencies, USD remains the fiat currency around which all others revolve. Just as Etherum has proven to be one of the most sought after cryptocurrencies aside from Bitcoin, CAD is one of the most traded fiat currencies in the world. For those reasons, if we get excited over acquiring free Satoshis, we should be even more excited when we find copper Maple Leaf cents to keep for a post-fiat currency future.
Most people don't have access to industrial-scale resources, financing, or time. So it's left to circulating currency to help us here. USD and CAD still qualify as circulating currencies.
As with USD Lincoln cents, think of saving Maple Leaf cents as a way of earning passive income via copper. With entertainment options being what they are these days, saving Maple Leaf cents is a more rewarding use of your time (especially if you get into coin roll hunting as a passtime). Saving both CAD Maple Leaf cents and USD Lincoln cents would be a good habit to develop in order to gain copper on a personal scale.
Much of what I wrote regarding copper USD Lincoln cents and copper CAD Maple Leaf cents can be modified for legal tender copper coins from other countries. In future posts I'll discuss UK pence, (Euro)cents, and other world coins having good copper content. I also plan to write a general post about demonetized copper coins and which ones have good-to-great copper content.
The "How Anyone Can Invest in Copper" Series:
Part 1: USD Lincoln Cents |
Part 2: CAD Maple Leaf Cents |
Part 3: GBP Pence Coins (Decimalized) |
Part 4: AUD Cents Coins |
Part 5: JPY 10.00 Coins |
Part 6: SIDEBAR-- My Experiences with JPY 10.00 Coins (Coming Soon) |
| DISCLAIMER |
|---|
| As I am not a financial expert, this post is not meant to give financial advice. This post was written for informational purposes only in the hopes that it may be useful to anyone who is in a position to take advantage of it. |