Canada, George VI, 5 cents : 1943
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The beaver briefly disappeared from the Canadian nickel during the Second World War. So did the nickel typically used in minting the coin, a consequence of wartime rationing of the metal. The Mint used alternative materials (brass tombac in 1943, chromium-plated steel afterward) for the nickel-less 5¢ piece and stamped two special identifiers to mark it as a special coin: a big ‘V’ for victory and a message in Morse Code saying, “We win when we work willingly”.
Designer mark T.S. for Thomas Shingles, and H.P. for T.H. Paget. (Bank of Canada Museum)
(CNJ image)
Morse Code on the outer edge of the 1943 5 cent coin. The message begins at the very bottom with the dot under the N of CENTS. In Morse Code, “dot-dash-dash” equals “W” and there are six of them, each beginning a word.
Canada, King George Vi, 5 cents.