How To Determine Canadian Silver Dollar Values By Year

Canadian silver dollar values are greatly dependant on the year of the coins and the current spot price of silver. With the rising price of silver bullion so do the value of your silver coins but not all ‘silver dollars’ actually contain silver, you see after 1968 the Canadian Mint stopped using silver in the composition of not only it’s dollar coins but also it’s silver 50 cent pieces, quarters and dimes.

It is sometimes easiest to show prospective clients what they can expect to get for their items by showing them real world examples, so let’s do that now…

In the image below you will see 65 Canadian silver dollars recently purchased from a client, all of the silver dollars coins in the picture are dated 1966 and older. Have a look at the picture, when you are finished scroll down the page and see what our client was paid for these coins and what our silver dollar prices were…

So how much is a silver dollar worth? Well let’s find out, at the time of this transaction we were paying $15.60 for each Canadian Silver dollar coin so the price is pretty easy to determine, we simply multiply 65 x $15.60 = $1,014.00.

Our client was thrilled to receive over a thousand dollars for coins that were “just sitting around taking up space in my dresser” and we are always happy to have satisfied clients.

Determining Canadian Silver Dollar Values: How Much Silver Were In Canadian Coins

Now that we’ve gone through a real life example there are some facts about Canadian silver dollar values that you should be aware of. Up until 1966 the Canadian Mint used 80% actual silver in it’s composition of the dollar coin, in 1967 this value changed to 50% actual silver and half way through 1968 they stopped making ‘silver dollar coins’ with actual silver altogether, they fact is that today a Canadian dollar coins is actually made up of 91.5% nickel and 8.5% bronze.

So how much are silver coins worth? Fortunately it’s fairly easy to explain, you see all silver dollar, silver 50 cent pieces, silver quarter and silver dimes contain the same amount of actual silver as stated above. Up to 1966 80% silver, 1967 to half way through 1968 50% actual silver, knowing this it is easiest for us to price and for clients to understand by us listing our payment prices by face dollar.

Canadian Silver Dollar Value Chart

Many people find it easier to use charts when viewing information so in the chart below you will find the silver content and value of Canadian silver dollars year by year, you will also find the modern day composition of Canadian dollar coins: (Note: The prices listed below are for Circulated $1.00 coins, not proof or commemorative $1.00 coins.)

What Does A Face Dollar Mean?

A face dollar is any combination of coins that adds up to $1.00. What this means is that if a silver dollar coin 1966 and older fetches $15.60, for 2 silver 50 cent pieces 1966 older would also we
worth we $15.60. (2 times .50 = 1 Face Dollar)

So how much is a silver quarter worth? Since quarters 1966 and older also contain 80% silver, 1 face dollar = $15.60, there are 4 quarters in a dollar so $15.60 / 4 = $3.90, so for one quarter we would pay $3.90.

How much is a silver dime worth? The same principals apply, all dimes 1966 and earlier contain 805 silver, we are paying $15.60 per face dollar so $15.60 / 10 = $1.56, so we would pay $1.56 for each dime 1966 and earlier.

I hope this page helps to give you an idea what you can expect to receive for your old silver Canadian coinage. For our current Canadian silver dollar values click here. If you wish to consult me regarding your items feel free to use our contact page, if you want the inquiry to come directly to me simply type ‘Attention John’ and the start of your inquiry.