Canada Newfoundland One Cent 1938 King George VI
Obverse: Right portrait of crowned King George VI.
Lettering: GEORGIUS VI DEI GRA. REX ET IND. IMP. P.M.
Reverse: Purple pitcher plant, also known as Side-Saddle flower, a carnivorous plant, typical of the island
Lettering: NEWFOUNDLAND 1947 ONE CENT C
Specifications
Designer: Percy Metcalfe
Engraver: Walter J. Newman
Composition: .955 copper, .030 tin, .015 zinc
Weight: 3.24 grams
Diameter: 19.05 mm
Edge: Smooth
Mintages
Date and Mint Mark Mintage
1938 - 500,000
1940 - 300,000
1941 C - 827,662
1942 - 1,996,889
1943 C - 1,239,732
1944 C - 1,328,776
1947 C - 313,772
As Newfoundland did not join the Dominion of Canada until 1949, it had its own currency for many decades. It adopted its own decimal currency in 1863. Compared to other pre-Confederation British colonies, it had a wide selection of decimal coinage (including a twenty cent coin). The most important coin in Newfoundland was the Spanish American dollar (the 8-real piece), therefore, the Newfoundland government set its dollar equal in value to this coin. The new decimal cent was equal to the British halfpenny and $4.80 was equal to one pound sterling.
George VI 1938-1947
In 1937, the government of Newfoundland reviewed the option of converting to a smaller cent. The arguments in favour of it were cost-related. The new reverse would feature the Pitcher plant, a plant very native to Newfoundland, although many felt that the coin was too small and the plant had an unnatural look. During World War II, Newfoundland cents were manufactured in Ottawa rather than in England. This was done to avoid the risks of transatlantic shipping. Although coins manufactured in Ottawa between 1940 and 1947 have a C Mint Mark to signify that the coins were manufactured in Ottawa, the C Mint Mark does not exist on the 1940 and 1942 issues.
Newfoundland one cent 1938
Newfoundland had had its own currency since 1865 and over the years the people became very attached to their large one-cent pieces, an inch in diameter, and to their "fish scales," as the small silver five-cent pieces were locally known. Canada introduced its small cent in 1920 and its large nickel five-cent piece in 1922 but because of popular resistance to the change, it was not until 1937 that the government of Newfoundland officially considered adopting coin sizes similar to Canada's. After careful deliberation, Newfoundland decided to retain the silver five-cent piece but to change to a small cent.A considerable cost saving could be effected by producing this denomination in the smaller size. The attractive reverse for the new coin, illustrated, has as its main design element the pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. This plant, Newfoundland's floral emblem, is native to the island and is insectivorous. The insects are attracted by a sticky liquid at the bottom of each of the receptacle-like leaves. After the prey is trapped in the liquid, it is digested and absorbed by the plant. The first cents of the new design were struck at the Royal Mint in London in 1938. Later strikings, up to 1947, were made at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa.