The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States. It became the smallest-valued coin in the currency upon the discontinuation of the penny in 2013.
The first coinage minted for what would later become the Canadian Confederation originated in legislation enacted in 1853. Per the Act 16 Vict. c. 158, the Province of Canada was to issue "dollars, cents, and mills" that would co-circulate with English shillings and pence. This law eventually came to fruition five years later in 1858 when new coins were ordered to improve the Canadian monetary system. Five-cent coins in particular were struck during this year in a sterling silver alloy, had a diameter of 15.5 mm, and weighed 17.93 grains per piece. A young bust of Queen Victoria appears on the coin's obverse, while the reverse is decorated with a wreath with the given date and denomination below a crown. This was a one year issue as silver coins in general were not minted for Canada as a whole again until 1870. An issue arose due to the aftermath of the American Civil War, when currency of the United States dollar depreciated. Many unused silver coins were thus brought into Canada which disrupted the Canadian banking system. The Canadian government responded by expelling foreign silver coins and issuing new ones to take their place. Five-cent coins dated 1870 were all struck at the Royal Mint in London with the same weight and diameter as their 1858 counterparts.
According to author Allen G. Berman, Canadian nickels struck in pure nickel are "very difficult to grade" due to the alloy's hardness. Five-cent coins dated 1921 are among the rarest and most collectible Canadian circulation coins, known as "the Prince of Canadian Coins." Estimates of the number of specimens known range between 400 and 480. In May 1921, the government of Canada passed an act authorizing the change to the larger nickel coin, and subsequently the majority of the 1921 mint run was melted down. The coin believed to be the finest-known specimen (PCGS MS-67) sold for at auction in January 2010. It was then sold by the Canadian Numismatic Company for $160,000 to a private collector in early 2012.