1981 Canada Elizabeth II modified, reduced weight 1 Cent BU

About the 1981 Canada Elizabeth II modified, reduced weight 1 Cent BU

Struck at the Winnipeg facility in bronze of 98% copper, 1.75% tin and 0.25% zinc, the reduced weight version weighs about 2.8 g instead of the heavier standard of earlier issues. It keeps the familiar round form, which makes it the final round bronze cent before the Mint adopted a 12 sided design to help users tell the coin apart from others in circulation. The obverse carries the modified version of Arnold Machin's 2nd portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, refined with a slightly smaller effigy, surrounded by the legend ELIZABETH II D G REGINA. The reverse keeps G. E. Kruger Gray's enduring design of 2 maple leaves on a single twig, a motif that has become one of the most recognizable emblems of Canadian numismatics. For collectors, this type is an important transitional piece that shows how economic pressure reshaped everyday coinage while the design stayed the same.