The first Canadian silver dollar was struck in 1935, marking the 25th anniversary of King George V’s coronation. It is one of the longest-running coin series still collected today. In its early years the Royal Canadian Mint did not issue a dollar every year; from 1971 onward a new collector dollar has appeared annually.
If you have a Canadian dollar in front of you, the first thing worth knowing is whether it contains any silver at all, and if it does, how much. The composition changed six times, and two of those changes matter a great deal to what the coin is worth as metal.
Not all of them do. The dividing lines are these:
1935 to 1967. The Voyageur and commemorative dollars of this era are 80% silver. These are the heaviest-silver Canadian dollars ever made for circulation, and the ones most often found in inherited collections and coin jars.
1968 to 1970: no silver. The circulating dollar switched to pure nickel in 1968. A 1968, 1969 or 1970 dollar has no precious metal value at all. This catches people out more than any other date.
1971 onward. Silver returns, but only in collector coins. The Mint began issuing a separate commemorative dollar for collectors each year, struck in 50% silver, while the everyday circulating dollar stayed nickel (and became the “loonie” in 1987). So a silver dollar from 1971 or later was never meant for change; it was sold to collectors.
1992 onward. The collector dollar moved up to .925 sterling silver, and later to .999 fine silver, which is why the newer coins are worth more as metal than the 1971-1991 issues despite looking similar.
The table below gives the composition, the gross weight, the actual pure silver content in troy ounces, and what that silver is worth at the spot price on the date shown.
| Time Period | Silver Component | Weight | Pure Silver (troy oz) | Melt Value at $68.82/oz (25 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 to 1967 | 80% silver and 20% copper | 23.33 grams | 0.600 | $41.29 |
| 1971 to 1991 | 50% silver and 50% copper | 23.33 grams | 0.375 | $25.81 |
| 1992 to 2002 | 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper | 25.175 grams | 0.749 | $51.53 |
| 2003 to 2006 | 99.9% silver | 25.175 grams | 0.809 | $55.65 |
| 2007 to 2011 | 92.5% silver and 7.5% copper | 25.175 grams | 0.749 | $51.53 |
| beginning with 2012 | 99.9% silver | 23.17 grams | 0.744 | $51.22 |
Melt values move with the silver price, so treat the last column as a snapshot rather than a fixed number. You can check the current silver price on our live silver chart and recalculate at any time.
The arithmetic is simple once you know the silver content:
pure silver content (troy oz) × current silver price = melt value
A 1965 Voyageur dollar contains 0.600 troy ounces of silver. With silver at $68.82 an ounce, that is $41.29 of metal. A 1980 collector dollar contains 0.375 troy ounces, so the same silver price gives $25.81. A 2015 issue at .999 fine contains 0.744 ounces, or $51.22.
Two things to keep in mind. First, melt value is the floor, not the ceiling. Scarce dates, low mintages and high grades can be worth well above their metal content to a collector, and it would be a mistake to sell a genuinely rare coin for scrap. Second, buyers pay a percentage of melt rather than melt itself, since they have to refine and resell.
Mintage figures for the 1971 onward collector dollars are genuinely complicated: most years were issued in more than one finish (brilliant uncirculated, proof, and specimen), each with its own mintage, and figures are sometimes revised. Rather than publish numbers we cannot stand behind, we would point you to the Charlton Standard Catalogue of Canadian Coins, which is the reference dealers actually use. If you are trying to value a specific date and finish, that is the book to check.
If you have decided to sell rather than keep, it is worth reading our guide on how to sell silver coins first, because the mistakes that cost sellers money are mostly avoidable ones. For coins struck after 1971, it is also worth understanding how the Royal Canadian Mint produces its collector issues, and how the modern Silver Maple Leaf differs from the older dollars. If you are interested in where the metal itself comes from, we also cover the biggest silver mines in the world.