1981 Canada Dollar Value
A 1981 Canada Dollar is worth roughly its melt value to well into four figures depending on its condition. Certified examples in top grades can run far higher.
1981 Canada Dollar value by grade
| Grade | Estimated value |
|---|
Estimated retail range. Estimates are modeled from mintage rarity and metal content, not auction records. Actual sale prices vary with certification, eye appeal and market timing.
How much is a 1981 Canada Dollar worth today?
Pricing for the 1981 Canada Dollar depends on grade and current collector demand.
1981 Canada Dollar specifications
- Series
- Canada Coinage
- Year
- 1981
- Mint mark
- None (Philadelphia)
- Mintage
- Not recorded
- Composition
- Nickel
- Weight
- 15.538 g
- Diameter
- 32 mm
No mint mark? Here is why
The 1981 Canada Dollar was struck at the Philadelphia Mint, which used no mint mark in this era. If you find no letter where branch-mint coins carry one (check the usual position for this series), you are holding a Philadelphia issue.
What makes the 1981 Canada Dollar valuable
Documented examples of the 1981 Canada Dollar in our reference database anchor what we know about this issue. Mintage records are incomplete, so collector demand and surviving population drive its market.
Documented Canada coin types preserved in museum collections, with measured specifications for each date, denomination and mint. For the 1981 Canada Dollar, the enduring popularity of the series translates directly into buyers in every grade and every market cycle.
1981 Canada Dollar inscriptions & design
Obverse
ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA
middle-aged crowned and draped bust of the Queen, facing right
Reverse
CANADA DOLLAR
An Indian and a voyageur, a travelling agent for a fur company, paddling a canoe by an islet on which there are two wind-swept trees; in the canoe are bundles of goods; the bundle at the right has HB, representing the Hudson's Bay Company. The vertical lines in the background represent the northern lights.
Measured 1981 Canada Dollar specimens
6 physically measured 1981 Canada Dollar examples in our reference database. Real measured weights and die axes let you authenticate a coin against the 15.538 g, 32 mm minting standard.
| Specimen | Weight | Diameter | Die axis | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 Canada Dollar #1 | 15.406 g | 32 mm | - | KM.Canada.120 |
| 1981 Canada Dollar #2 | 15.247 g | 32 mm | - | KM.Canada.120 |
| 1981 Canada Dollar #3 | 15.538 g | 32 mm | - | KM.Canada.120 |
| 1981 Canada Dollar #4 | 23.173 g | 36 mm | - | KM.Canada.130 |
| 1981 Canada Dollar #5 | 23.148 g | 36 mm | - | KM.Canada.130 |
| 1981 Canada Dollar #6 | 22.988 g | 36 mm | - | KM.Canada.130 |
Specifications compiled from documented museum specimens. See our data & methodology page.