Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The Canadian silver dollar melt value depends on one thing: how much pure silver the coin holds. Dollars from 1935 to 1967 are 80% silver in a 23.33 gram coin, which works out to 0.600 troy ounces of pure silver. At today's spot price that is about $19.37 per coin. The formula is simple: pure silver ounces multiplied by the live silver price.

The 50% silver dollars hold 0.375 troy ounces, worth about $12.11. This tier covers only the collector silver dollars struck from 1971 to 1991, which the Mint sold in sets rather than for circulation. Circulating dollars from 1968 forward are nickel and hold no silver, so they carry no melt value. The 1967 Centennial dollar, the 1966 Canadian silver dollar, and the 1965 Canadian silver dollar all sit in the 80% tier at 0.600 troy ounces.

Most Canadian silver dollars carry the Voyageur design and trade near melt in circulated grades. Commemorative years and key dates are where the extra value sits. Below is what to know year by year.

1935 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1935 dollar is the first year of the series, issued for the Silver Jubilee of George V. It carries the Voyageur reverse, holds 0.600 troy ounces of silver, and is worth about $19.37 at melt. Circulated examples trade at melt plus a modest collector premium.

1939 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1939 dollar marks the Royal Visit and shows the Parliament building on the reverse. Mintage was high, so most trade near melt at about $19.37 in silver, with a small premium for higher grades.

1958 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1958 dollar is the British Columbia commemorative with a totem pole reverse. It is 80% silver, worth about $19.37 at melt, and popular with collectors of the commemorative run.

1964 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1964 dollar commemorates the Charlottetown and Quebec Confederation meetings. It is a common date in 80% silver, worth about $19.37 at melt, and usually trades at or near that level in circulated grades.

1965 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1965 dollar returns to the Voyageur design and is best known for its varieties. Value beyond the $19.37 melt comes from the bead size on the rim (small, medium, or large) combined with a pointed 5 or blunt 5 in the date. Collectors sort these into Type 1 through Type 5, and the scarcer combinations command premiums. The Small Beads Blunt 5 is the standout, reaching into the thousands in top grades.

1966 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1966 dollar is 80% silver, worth about $19.37 at melt. It was the final year of the Voyageur design. The common large beads version trades near melt, but the scarce small beads variety is worth far more, often well over a thousand dollars in uncirculated or prooflike grades. Check the rim beads on any 1966 dollar before selling.

1967 Canadian Silver Dollar Value

The 1867 to 1967 Centennial dollar features the Alex Colville goose. Every one is 80% silver with 0.600 troy ounces of pure silver, worth about $19.37 at melt, the same standard used since 1935. There is no 50% or nickel version of the 1967 dollar. It was the final circulating Canadian silver dollar; the 1968 dollar switched to nickel. Look for the scarce Diving Goose variety, where the goose sits at a steep angle, which carries a strong premium.

1968 and Later

Circulating dollars from 1968 on are nickel and hold no silver. The Mint kept issuing collector silver dollars for sets: 50% silver (0.375 troy ounces, worth about $12.11) from 1971 to 1991, then sterling from 1992, and fine silver in later years. Value on these collector issues depends on the specific release rather than melt alone.

A handful of dates and varieties are worth well above melt. The 1948 dollar is the key date of the series, struck in very low numbers, and commands a strong premium in any grade. The 1947 dollar has maple leaf, pointed 7, and blunt 7 varieties, each carrying a premium. The 1945 dollar had a low mintage and trades above melt.

Among varieties, the 1966 small beads and the 1965 Type combinations are the ones to watch in an otherwise common run. When a coin might be a key date or a scarce variety, weigh it and check the melt value here as your floor, then compare against completed sales for the specific date and grade.

The date settles it in most cases. Circulating dollars from 1935 through 1967 are 80% silver and hold 0.600 troy ounces. Circulating dollars from 1968 through 1986 are pure nickel and hold no silver. Silver dollars dated 1971 and later exist only as collector coins the Mint sold in sets, so you will not find them in pocket change.

A magnet confirms it fast. Silver is not magnetic, so a genuine 80% silver dollar will not stick to a magnet. The 1968 to 1986 nickel dollars are magnetic and jump to one, and they are also visibly smaller than the silver dollars. So a large Voyageur-style dollar that grabs a magnet holds no silver. Note that both the 80% and the 50% silver dollars weigh the same 23.33 grams, so weight alone does not separate the two purities; the date does.

Most US coin shops buy 80% Canadian silver at or slightly below melt because the purity is lower than US 90% coins. Common-date dollars move quickly at melt plus a small premium. Key dates, the 1966 small beads, and the 1965 varieties deserve a closer look before you sell, since they can be worth many times their silver.

Sort by date and separate anything that might be a key date or a scarce variety. Weigh each coin, calculate the melt value here as your floor price, then check completed sales for the specific date and grade before accepting an offer. For US coins, see our US silver coin melt values page. For other countries, see world silver coin melt values. Or run any weight through the silver melt value calculator.