Coins of Canada - Victory Nickel

Victory Nickel

(Tombac 1943-1944) (Steel 1944-1945)

The five-cent piece underwent a design change for the first time since 1937 when the Beaver was first introduced. The new reverse featured a striking V design. In the interest of promoting the war effort, the famous V sign from Winston Churchill was adopted. Perhaps, the most unusual aspect of this coin was the Morse Code. The meaning was "We Win When We Work Willingly". It is not uncommon that the edge of the Steel versions of the V Nickel were known to rust.

Due to high demands for copper and zinc during the war effort, the use of Tombac was suspended. A new composition of steel with .0127 mm plating of nickel and .0003 mm plating of chromium was now the norm. Unfortunately, the plating process of these coins meant that strips had to be plated before blanks were punched out. The end result was that the edges of the blanks were unplated. Although the RCM would return to nickel after WWII, the Korean war effort resulted in the use of steel again in 1951. Some of the steel coins were later discovered to have only the nickel plating and had a grey rather than the usual "bluish" appearance. Until recently, this variety did not command a premium price from collectors, but the fact that some years are rarer than others has started to generate interest in this variety.