Questions regarding 2 Canadian Coins

[robroy]

I have a 1972 voyager Canadian dollar coin. I was told that it was silver, but from all the canadian coin calculator information that I can find no 1972 Voyager Canadian dollar coin was minted with silver and the last time that the $1cad coin had silver in it was ~ 1968. However one source that I saw on Ebay said that the coin is 50% silver. I would like to know because I purchased the coin for its silver content and I am confused. Could this coin be a Canadian commerative?

The other coin that I am looking for information on is also a $1cad coin that has steam locomotive on the reverse and was coined in 1986, and bears the legend of Vancouver. I think that the coin is a Canadian Commerative. Looking for whatever information I can get plus what the silver content is of this coin.

All help is appreciated. I purchased these two coins because I liked the looks of them and I like canoeing and railroading. I realize that purchasing these coins like I did may not have been my smartest move.

[68Camaro]

http://en.numista.com/catalogue/canada-2.html

There appear to be both nickel and 50% silver 1972 coins. Distinctly different look, feel, weight.

Don't see the railroad coin, but maybe you can find it somewhere in that link.

[robroy]

I think that it is time for me to purchase a scale in order to determine if the voyager coin is either nickel or silver. I don't think that the person I purchased both of those coins from last year would have steered me wrong.

The 1986 coin appears to be CANADA 1986 SILVER PROOF DOLLAR - VANCOUVER - CANADIAN PACIFIC ENGINE #371 I found a picture of it on ebay. According to coinpeople the mintage 496,418 its .925 Silver and weighs 25.17g. When I purchased the coin last year my friend did say it was a commerative but didn't know a lot about the coin. So together we have found out a lot about this coin. I'm glad. It only took me a year or so to get this information. What held me up was that I didn't think that ebay listed canadian coins of any class.

I can't figure out how to upload a picture of this coin. But I can reference the page that I found the coin on.

http://www.coinpeople.com/index.php?/to ... entennial/

[Robarons]

Surprised no one chimed in on this topic! There is an extremely easy way to figure out if their silver.

Pass a magnet over it- if it sticks its .999 Nickel normal coinage, if it does not its silver and is from the mint.

They indeed made silver 1972 Canadian Dollars, but they will not stick, are tarnished in most cases, and have a silver look to them. Believe they have .375 ASW or something like that.

Check out Currency debasement .com and they list every single coin canada has made and their silver content.

[OneBiteAtATime]

Has anyone ever tried the tissue test? Sometimes, I pass the coin under some toilet paper - if it shines through that its silver, if it's dull, its not. Helps to use something you know is silver and know is not as a reference....

[JadeDragon]

Magnet - sticks and its 100% Ni, otherwise you have silver. The normal voyager dollar should be Ni.