did Canadian large dollars ever circulate ?

I have heard instances where 50 cent coins where used but did large nickel dollars of the 70's and 80's ever circulate in transactions ?

They did but, rarely.

I had a paper route in Toronto as a child in the late 60's and early 70's. Occasionally received dollars and even more rarely 50 cents. Probably received more silver (10 and 25 cents) than both of those.

My son worked for some time in a coffee and doughnut parlour which some Canadians may know as "Tim Hortons". There's a few of those scattered around the country... Well, just last year, he was at the cash register and got a 1973 nickel dollar in payment for a coffee! It is AU in grade and is now in my collection.

At the same shop, a couple of years back, I heard two employees talk about the fact that they got a US Sacagawea dollar in payment.

Oh! And my father worked for a very short time at night at the local horse race track in either 1967 or 1968. Gamblers would buy tickets with whatever money they had, so over the weeks he got six or seven centennial dollars.

Quote: "Peter M. Graham"​They did but, rarely.
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​I had a paper route in Toronto as a child in the late 60's and early 70's. Occasionally received dollars and even more rarely 50 cents. Probably received more silver (10 and 25 cents) than both of those.

​Me too re: paper route & getting the very odd nickel dollar payment in the GTA (but, like you, I was mainly in the hunt for silver). The folks kept harping about the silver (worth so much more than nickel back then) so we were all sort of "trained" to look for those coins (& spend the rest). The "big prizes" were always the 1967 centennials (right?) But of course we settled for 1968. At least the silver seemed to please the folks.

However, unlike most of you "coin-hunters" I was always always trying to snag a decent banknote (which seemed impossible back in those days since my pay was always so paltry/miniscule). Always in the hunt for the infamous "Devil's Face." I often traded my brother silver quarters, dimes & silver dollars for banknotes (think he got the better deal since I knew 0 about collecting) just for regular (Modified) $1, $2 or $5. I had to wait till I got a job at 16 (at a carwash) before I could actually save a decent banknote ($1 or $2 with an asterisk).

"Oh! And my father worked for a very short time at night at the local horse race track in either 1967 or 1968."

Fun fact: race tracks & casinos have got to be one of the best places to pick up a bit of "retro" currency/coins. Why? (b/c the "gambo-holics" often turn to their piggy banks/saved notes, anything just to gamble). It's just tough to score anything from these places (unless you work there & the pit-boss or security back in the cages don't mind you tinkering with the bills/coins).

Yes, precisely because of addictive gambling, some will use any money they can find. I suppose they can rationalize it: "When I win big, I'll be able to buy back all these collectors items".

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, people called "silver dollar" any dollar coin, whether silver or nickel.

There was a bank in the 1980s which came up with a promotion: Open an account with us and we will give you a silver dollar. Well, the "silver dollar" actually was a nickel dollar. Someone who signed up was disappointed in his "silver" dollar and sued them. I don't know how the story ended, but it made the news in Canadian numismatic circles. There was a couple of columns in the Canadian Numismatic Journal back then, but I don't know whether they ever published the final outcome.

Quote: "Camerinvs"​Yes, precisely because of addictive gambling, some will use any money they can find. I suppose they can rationalize it: "When I win big, I'll be able to buy back all these collectors items".
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​Back in the 1970s and 1980s, people called "silver dollar" any dollar coin, whether silver or nickel.
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​There was a bank in the 1980s which came up with a promotion: Open an account with us and we will give you a silver dollar. Well, the "silver dollar" actually was a nickel dollar. Someone who signed up was disappointed in his "silver" dollar and sued them. I don't know how the story ended, but it made the news in Canadian numismatic circles. There was a couple of columns in the Canadian Numismatic Journal back then, but I don't know whether they ever published the final outcome.

​Do you remember what bank it was? I would love to research this story.

I tried to find out, but I haven't yet. I started to go through the yearly index of the Canadian Numismatic Journals of the 1980s, but haven't found it yet. I might well be in the late 1970s.

BTW I got to know this story only recently (a year or two ago) as I was reading some articles in the CNJ. I didn't pay attention to the date, unfortunately, nor to which bank it was, though my bet would be on the Royal Bank.

"Back in the 1970s and 1980s, people called "silver dollar" any dollar coin, whether silver or nickel." -Camerinvs

You know I don't recall that but I do remember my grandfather (& thus the folks) looking down on the transition to nickel (& I never heard either of them call a nickel dollar a "silver dollar"). Maybe they were different. They were a bit 'old school' & appreciated silver & saved it up in a jar during the change over. Our grandfather also saved his silver in one of his old Players tobacco cans. He had a 2nd one for nickels & pennies. My brother got coin albums (penny, nickel and dime cardboard folders by Whitman I think) to file away all those cool coins by the year.

While I had a paper route (& later hoped to get silver) it wasn't long before silver disappeared from circulation. Silver was a rare finds (& mostly late 60's (1964-1968- the 50% one). I got a couple nickel dollars & folders for nickels but couldn't fill them up. I remember being excited by the Mountie quarter (1973) but then switching to banknotes since my collection was mostly nickel & frustrating trying to get coins which disappeared. It seemed pointless to collect nickel though I sometimes regret not sticking with it. Nobody seemed interested in nickel coins back then (sort of like many paper money collectors looking down on polymer these days).

Yes ─ I finally found it! It's from the April 1976 issue of the CNJ. They say exactly what I knew from those days, that "silver dollar" came to mean, for many people, any metallic dollar by opposition to the paper dollar. It's a little like saying "nickel" for any 5¢ coin, whatever the composition.

COIN COLLECTOR SUES TRUST COMPANY FOR ONE SILVER DOLLAR

A Toronto coin collector is suing one of Canada's largest trust companies for one silver dollar.

In a lawsuit launched last week, Allan Manington claims that Canada Permanent Trust Company owes him the silver coin. He is also asking the court to rule that the term "silver dollar" refers only to a dollar coin containing silver, and not to the pure nickel version of the coin.

The lawsuit arises from a massive campaign for new business conducted by the Permanent last November. The company placed large advertisements in Toronto newspapers promising a free "silver dollar" to anyone who opened a new account with a minimum deposit of $10.00.

Attracted by the advertisements, Manington opened an account at one of the Permanent's twenty Toronto branches, and instead of receiving a dollar coin containing silver he was given one of the more common nickel dollar coins which contain no silver at all.

Letters to the trust company and the misleading advertising division of the Canadian government's department of consumer and corporate affairs failed to get Manington his silver dollar, so the matter was taken to the Supreme Court.

Manington feels he kept up his end of the bargain, and now he wants the Permanent to deliver the silver coin as promised in the ads.

The trust company's view is that it has fulfilled its obligations and will not exchange the nickel dollar for the more valuable silver coin.

According to the Permanent president Donald G. Neelands, there was no intention to deceive, although technically speaking the advertisements were incorrect.

The advertising campaign was cleared in advance by the misleading advertising division of the Canadian government, which took the position that the term "silver dollar" is generic in nature and is used to distinguish the coin dollar from the bank note dollar. The department felt that the public would not be misled into thinking that there would be silver metal in the coins.

An estimated 9,000 new customers opened accounts with the Permanent during the three week promotion, and each received a nickel dollar coin. The coins are usually available from banks at face value, and occasionally circulate. The silver dollars, on the other hand, are sold by the Royal Canadian Mint in special packaging for $4.00 each. Pre-1968 silver dollars, which originally were available for face value, generally retail today for $3.00 or more.

Here is the announcement from "The Liberal", October 1975:

Quote: "Camerinvs"​Yes ─ I finally found it! It's from the April 1976 issue of the CNJ. They say exactly what I knew from those days, that "silver dollar" came to mean, for many people, any metallic dollar by opposition to the paper dollar. It's a little like saying "nickel" for any 5¢ coin, whatever the composition.
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​COIN COLLECTOR SUES TRUST COMPANY FOR ONE SILVER DOLLAR
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​A Toronto coin collector is suing one of Canada's largest trust companies for one silver dollar.
​
​In a lawsuit launched last week, Allan Manington claims that Canada Permanent Trust Company owes him the silver coin. He is also asking the court to rule that the term "silver dollar" refers only to a dollar coin containing silver, and not to the pure nickel version of the coin.
​
​The lawsuit arises from a massive campaign for new business conducted by the Permanent last November. The company placed large advertisements in Toronto newspapers promising a free "silver dollar" to anyone who opened a new account with a minimum deposit of $10.00.
​
​Attracted by the advertisements, Manington opened an account at one of the Permanent's twenty Toronto branches, and instead of receiving a dollar coin containing silver he was given one of the more common nickel dollar coins which contain no silver at all.
​
​Letters to the trust company and the misleading advertising division of the Canadian government's department of consumer and corporate affairs failed to get Manington his silver dollar, so the matter was taken to the Supreme Court.
​
​Manington feels he kept up his end of the bargain, and now he wants the Permanent to deliver the silver coin as promised in the ads.
​
​The trust company's view is that it has fulfilled its obligations and will not exchange the nickel dollar for the more valuable silver coin.
​
​According to the Permanent president Donald G. Neelands, there was no intention to deceive, although technically speaking the advertisements were incorrect.
​
​The advertising campaign was cleared in advance by the misleading advertising division of the Canadian government, which took the position that the term "silver dollar" is generic in nature and is used to distinguish the coin dollar from the bank note dollar. The department felt that the public would not be misled into thinking that there would be silver metal in the coins.
​
​An estimated 9,000 new customers opened accounts with the Permanent during the three week promotion, and each received a nickel dollar coin. The coins are usually available from banks at face value, and occasionally circulate. The silver dollars, on the other hand, are sold by the Royal Canadian Mint in special packaging for $4.00 each. Pre-1968 silver dollars, which originally were available for face value, generally retail today for $3.00 or more.
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​Here is the announcement from "The Liberal", October 1975:
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​Wow! Can't believe you actually found it. It's kind of crazy that a pre-68 silver dollar was only CA$3 (I assume it's Canadian dollars).