What is Canadian Money Made Of | A Complete Guide

Have you ever wondered what Canadian money is made of?

If you are like most people, well you probably haven’t then! But if you are like me and you were in fact wondering this, well then you’ve come to the right place.

The purpose of this article is to give you, the readers, a chance to learn more about our great nation’s Canadian currency. Not only will this article look at the most recent composition of each Canadian coin, but it’ll give you the historical compositions of these denominations as well.

If you’re just here for a good time but not a long time, no worries, directly below here I’ve included a table for you as a quick overview of each denomination and it’s current composition.

What is Canadian Money Made Of?

Canadian Money	Composition
Penny	94% Steel, 1.5% Nickel, 4.5% Copper
Nickel	94.5% Steel, 3.5% Copper, 2% Nickel
Dime	92% Steel, 5.5% Nickel, 2.5% Copper
Quarter	94% Steel, 3.8% Nickel, 2.2% Copper
Loonie	Steel, Brass Plating
Toonie	Steel, Nickel Plating, Aluminum Bronze, Brass Plating
Paper Money	Polymer

The Penny, Nickel, Dime and Quarter are all made with Steel, Nickel and Copper. The Loonie is composed of Steel with Brass plating. The Toonie is composed of Steel with Nickel plating as the outer ring and Aluminum Bronze and Brass plating as the inner core. Finally, Canadian Paper notes are made with Polymer.

If you have a little more time and are interested in learning more about the historical composition of the Canadian currency, then I’d suggest reading through each section below to get a more comprehensive overview of how the makeup of Canadian money has changed over time.

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Composition of the Penny

The current composition of the Canadian Penny is 94% Steel, 1.5% Nickel and 4.5% Copper.

Current Composition of the Penny	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
94% Steel, 1.5% Nickel, 4.5% Copper	1858	Yes*

Related Article by the Financial Geek: 5 Places to Cash in Canadian Pennies

Historical Composition of the Penny

Years	Composition
2000–2012 *	94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper plating
1997–1999	98.4% zinc, 1.6% copper plating
1982–1996	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1980–1981	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1978–1979	98% copper, 1.75% tin, 0.25% zinc
1942–1977	98% copper, 0.5% tin, 1.5% zinc
1920–1941	95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc
1876–1920	95.5% copper, 3% tin, 1.5% zinc

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Composition of the Nickel

The current composition of the Canadian Nickel is 94.5% Steel, 3.5% Copper and 2% Nickel.

Current Composition of the Nickel	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
94.5% Steel, 3.5% Copper, 2% Nickel	1858	Yes

Historical Composition of the Nickel

Years	Composition
2003–present	94.5% steel, 3.5% copper, 2% nickel plating
1999–2003	94.5% steel, 3.5% copper, 2% nickel plating
1990–2001, 2006	75% copper, 25% nickel
1982 – 1989	75% copper, 25% nickel
1965–1981	99.9% nickel
1953–1964	Chrome plated steel (1953–1954) 99.9% nickel (1955–1964)
1946–1952	99.9% nickel (1946–1951)Chrome plated steel (1951–1952)
1942–1945	88% copper, 12% zinc (1942–1943)Chrome plated steel (1944–1945)
1937–1942	99.9% nickel
1922–1936	99.9% nickel
1911–1921	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper (1911–1919)80% silver, 20% copper (1920–1921)
1902–1910	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1858–1901	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

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Composition of the Dime

The current composition of the Canadian Dime is 92% Steel, 5.5% Nickel and 2.5% Copper.

Current Composition of the Dime	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
92% Steel, 5.5% Nickel, 2.5% Copper	1858	Yes

Historical Composition of the Dime

Years	Composition
2000–present	92.0% steel, 5.5% copper, 2.5% nickel plating
1979–1999	99.9% nickel
1969–1978	99.9% nickel
1968	99.9% nickel (172.5M), 50% silver, 50% copper (70.4M)
1967	50% silver, 50% copper (30.6M)80% silver, 20% copper (32.3M)
1920–1966	80% silver, 20% copper
1910–1919	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1858–1910	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

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Composition of the Quarter

The current composition of the Canadian Quarter is 94% Steel, 3.8% Nickel and 2.2% Copper.

Current Composition of the Quarter	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
94% Steel, 3.8% Nickel, 2.2% Copper	1870	Yes

Historical Composition of the Quarter

Years	Composition
2000–present	94.0% steel, 3.8% copper, 2.2% nickel plating
1968–1999	99.9% nickel
1967–1968	50% silver, 50% copper
1953–1967	80% silver, 20% copper
1920–1952	80% silver, 20% copper
1910–1919	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1908–1910	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

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Composition of the Loonie

Canadian Loonies, first introduced to Canadians in 1987, are made of Steel with Brass plating.

Current Composition of the Loonie	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
Steel, Brass Plating	1987	Yes

Historical Composition of the Loonie

Prior to 2012, the Loonie was made with 91.5% Nickel and 8.5% Bronze plating.

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Composition of the Toonie

The outer ring of the Canadian Toonie is composed of Steel with Nickel plating while the inner core is composed of Aluminum Bronze with Brass plating.

Current Composition of the Toonie	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
Steel, Nickel Plating, Aluminum Bronze, Brass Plating	1996	Yes

Historical Composition of the Toonie

Prior to 2012, the Toonie was made with 99% Nickel as the outer ring. The inner core was made with Aluminium Bronze composed of 92% Copper, 6% Aluminum and 2% Nickel.

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Composition of Canadian Paper Money

The current composition of Canadian Paper money is 100% Polymer. According to the Bank of Canada, Polymer is a better, smoother and more durable material than cotton, which was the what Canadian paper notes were previously composed of.

Source

Current Composition of Canadian Paper Money	First Introduced	Still Legal Tender?
100% Polymer	1813-1815	Yes

Historical Composition of Canadian Paper Money

Prior to 2011, Canadian paper money was made with cotton.

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Conclusion

And there you have it! The most recent and historical composition of Canadian money for each denomination.

Hopefully now you have no question about what money is made of and you’ve been able to find the answers to all your questions throughout this article.

I do plan to continually update this article so it can be used as a helpful resource for years to come, so if you know of any updates that have not yet been made within the article, feel free to contact us here so we can get things updated.

Don’t be shy! I don’t bite. The more up to date this article is the better, so trust me when I say I won’t be offended.

Geek, out.