Why the "P" Mint Mark?
The most interesting
development from the Mint came in late-December 2000, when the changeover to plated Steel
blanks began. These new plated Steel coins have all been marked with a "P" Mint
Mark to indicate the change in composition. The Mint has switched to the steel blanks
because they are cheaper then nickel blanks. Since
the Mint changeover there has been a lot of confusion as to what is available with the
"P" mint mark and without. At the
bottom of the page we have listed all of the coins that are available so far with a
"P" mint mark from 1999 to present.
Why did the Mint produce 2000-P 5-Cents?
It became known at the end of 2000 that an emergency issue
of 2000 5-cent coins was struck with a "P" Mint Mark. These coins were struck in
relatively small quantities. It is estimated that approximately 2 Million 2000-P 5-Cent
coins were struck in late November to alleviate a coin shortage in Alberta and Quebec. The
2000-P 5-cent coins were distributed to banks and other financial institutions in these
two areas. Only 5-cent coins were struck in 2000 with the "P" Mint Mark. All of
the other 2000-dated denominations were struck entirely on the old composition blanks.
The 1999 & 2000
“P” Test Coins
In 1999 and 2000, Test Coins were struck with a
"P" Mint Mark on the new plated blanks. They were issued in small quantities to
vending machine companies and transit authorities to recalibrate their equipment to the
new coin weights. Test Coins, dated 1999-P, are known to have been struck for the 1-cent,
5-cent, 10-cent, 25-cent, and 50-cent denominations. It is now known that 2000-P dated
Test Coins were also struck for the 5-cent, 10-cent, 25-cent and 50-cent denominations.
Presumably, some 2000-P 1-cent Test Coins were also struck, but the existence of these
coins has not yet been confirmed. The author first saw the 10-cent 2000-P Test Coins in
January 2001. Since that time, the author has personally seen and can attest to the
existence of a 2000-P 50-cent Test Coin, a 2000-P 25-cent “Creativity” coin and
a 2000-P 25-cent “Community” coin. These four coins were not issued for
circulation with a “P” Mint Mark so identification of these pieces is easy.
Unfortunately, the identification of the 5-cent 2000-P Test Coin is now impossible, as the
Test Coins are identical in all aspects to the 2000-P business strike 5-cent coins struck
for circulation.
2001 Dated Coinage
The production of 2001 1-cent coins has been struck entirely on non-steel
plated blanks. We do not expect to see 2001-P 1-cent coins in circulation this year. The
5-cent coin has already been struck on both plated and non-plated blanks, creating two
varieties for the year. Both can be easily distinguished by the presence (or absence) of
the "P" Mint Mark. At this time, it appears that the "No P" 2001 5
Cents is the scarcer of the two types. The 2001 10-cent coins have only been seen with the
"P" Mint Mark, indicating that the Mint ran out of the old blanks at precisely
the same time that production of the 2000 coinage wrapped up, and 2001 production began.
The 2001 Volunteer commemorative has also been minted entirely on the new blanks. The Mint
also struck some 25-cent pieces for circulation. It was the first time that a
Caribou-style 25 Cent coin was issued for circulation since 1996. The entire production of
these coins was executed on non-plated blanks, so the 2001 25-cent pieces do not have a
Mint Mark. There are no plans to change the composition of the Loon
Dollar or $2.00 coin. At this point it is unclear if the mint will continue to put the
"P" mint mark on the coins as the years go by.
| 2001 |
1c |
P |
mint sets only |
| 2001 |
1c |
no mark |
circulating |
| 2001 |
5c |
P |
mint sets &
circulating |
| 2001 |
5c |
no mark |
circulating |
| 2001 |
10c Bluenose |
P |
mint sets &
circulating |
| 2001 |
10c Volunteer |
P |
circulating |
| 2001 |
25c |
P |
mint sets &
circulating |
| 2001 |
25c |
no mark |
circulating |
| 2001 |
50c |
P |
mint sets &
circulating |
| 2001 |
Loon |
no mark |
mint sets only |
| 2001 |
Twoonie |
no mark |
mint sets &
circulating |
|
|
|
|
| 2000 |
5c |
P |
circulating |
| 2000 |
5c |
no mark |
mint sets &
circulating |
| 2000 |
10c |
P |
test token |
| 2000 |
25c |
P |
test token |
| 2000 |
50c |
P |
test token |
|
|
|
|
| 1999 |
1c |
P |
mint sets only (test
token) |
| 1999 |
5c |
P |
mint sets only (test
token) |
| 1999 |
10c |
P |
mint sets only (test
token) |
| 1999 |
25c |
P |
mint sets only (test
token) |
| 1999 |
50c |
P |
mint sets only (test
token) |
|
