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1964 Canada Dollar Question
pruebas
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Question for you Canadian experts. Is the 1964 Canada dollar really worth that much in high grades?
I believe my example is a specimen, but I'm not sure.
Should I send it to the slab factory?
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Never mind. I should have checked the Stacks archive first. $85-100 in SP66.
Not even close!
There were 3 different strikes produced:
1. Business strikes are worth only their melt value up to MS62. MS63 are $75, MS64 are $100, MS65 are $450.
2. Proof-like strikes are worth their melt value up to PL66. Cameo and Deep Cameo carry a 50% and 100% premium.
3. Specimen strikes are scarce and carry a higher premium, $300 for SP63 and $650 for SP65.
Prices above are in Canadian dollars. The current exchange is $1 CAD = $0.72 USD.
References: Canadian Coin News Trends dated Sept. 8, 2026, and Charlton's vol. 1, 78th ed., 2026.
Edit to add: there is a variety known as the "No Dot at TS" which doubles the value of MS and PL coins.
Life member #369 of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association
Member of Canadian Association of Token Collectors
Collector of:
Canadian coins and pre-confederation tokens
Darkside proof/mint sets dated 1960
My Ebay
There's a PCGS PL66 on eBay right now for $59.
Is it hard to differentiate PL from SP on these? It’s definitely not a circulation strike.
I don't know. I've seen lots of PL pieces but I suspect I've never seen a specimen example. Krause lists MS and Specimen, Charlton lists MS, PL and SP. From Calgary Coin website:
"1964 dollars exist as specimen strikes from official specimen sets, and with deep cameo, very good strikes, and without the fine dimpling on the shoulder as seen on Proof-like strikes. These are fairly rare, and without question the most beautiful of 1964 dollars. Examples certified by ICCS will be described as SPECIMEN and those by PCGS as PROOF, but both are describing the same thing. I suspect specimen is correct but they certainly look like Proof's."
edited to add... I would trust Charlton over Krause when it comes to what finishes were made.
More from ChatGPT:
The Specimen dollar can command a substantial premium over a comparable Proof-Like example, particularly in high grades. The Canadian coin reference Coins and Canada lists separate PL and SP price categories for the 1964 dollar, with significantly higher guide values for Specimens.
There is also a grading-label complication: the Calgary Coin Gallery reports that ICCS identifies these coins as Specimen, while PCGS has described the same type as Proof.
Post images and some of us will be able to help
MS, SP, PL all can be very confusing with Canadian Dollars. And then there's MSPL just to confuse things more.
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Don
Regardless what initials are used .... it's still a beautiful coin
The business strikes are often well struck with satiny luster which is attractive. The problem with this issue as well as other dates from the 1960s are bag marks. Trying to find a 1964 business strike that is submission worthy can be a challenge. I think I have submitted one to our host which came back 64.
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