Quarter (Canadian coin)

Quarter

Canada
Value	0.25 Canadian dollar
Mass	4.4 g
Diameter	23.88 [1] mm
Thickness	1.58 mm
Edge	Milled
Composition	94% steel, 3.8% Cu, 2.2% Ni plating
Years of minting	1870–present
Catalog number	-
Obverse
Design	Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Reverse
Design	Caribou
Designer	Emmanuel Hahn
Design date	1937

The quarter, short for quarter dollar, is a Canadian coin worth 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25-cent piece, but in practice it is usually called a "quarter", much like its American counterpart. The coin is produced at the Royal Canadian Mint's facility in Winnipeg.

History of Composition

Years	Mass	Diameter/Shape	Composition[2]
2000–present	4.40 g	23.88 mm	94.0% steel (unspecified alloy), 3.8% copper, 2.2% nickel plating
1968–1999	5.05 g	23.88 mm	99.9% nickel
1967-1968	5.83 g	23.88 mm	50% silver, 50% copper
1953–1967	5.83 g	23.88 mm	80% silver, 20% copper
1920–1952	5.83 g	23.62 mm	80% silver, 20% copper
1910–1919	5.83 g	23.62 mm	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1908–1910	5.81 g	23.62 mm	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

From 1920 until 1967 the quarter contained 0.15 troy ounces of silver -- 1/4 as much as the silver dollar (0.60 ozt), 1/2 as much as the 50 cent piece, and 2.5 times more than the dime.

Commemorative reverses

Ordinarily featuring a caribou,^[2] the quarter has the most commonly altered reverse in Canada, and is the usual venue for commemorative issues.

In 2004, a quarter was issued in honour of Remembrance Day, featuring a corn poppy on the reverse, a traditional symbol in Canada of that day. This resulted in a bizarre international incident, in which American military contractors unfamiliar with the coin's design believed these coins were outfitted with nanotechnology designed for espionage.^[3]

Single commemorative designs

Image	Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Notes
	1967	Canada's Centennial	Alex Colville	48,855,500	The reverse featured a bobcat.
	1973	100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police	Paul Cedarberg	135,958,589	The reverse depicted a mounted RCMP officer obverse featured Queen Elizabeth II.
	2002	Canadian Maple Leaf	Judith Chartier	30,627,000	1952–2002
	2004	Acadia (Île Ste. Croix)	R.R. Carmichael, Stan Witten	15,400,000	The reverse depicted a 17th-century sailing ship, "La Bonne-Renommée"[4] and the dates 1604–2004.
	2004	Remembrance Day	Cosme Saffioti, Stan Witten	28,500,000	The reverse featured a corn poppy coloured red, the first coloured general circulation coin in the world.
	2005	Alberta Centennial	Michelle Grant	20,640,000
	2005	Saskatchewan Centennial	Paulette Sapergia	19,290,000	The reverse features a western meadowlark.[5]
	2005	Year of the Veteran	Elaine Gobel	29,396,000
	2006	Pink Ribbon	Cosme Saffioti	29,798,000[6]	The second colourized coin in general issue. the coloration is more scratch-resistant.
	2006	Medal of Bravery	RCM Engravers	20,040,000[6]
	2008	Remembrance Day 90th anniversary	Cosme Saffioti, Stan Witten	11,000,000	Re-issue of 2004 design (but with a superior red poppy process & appearance), with '1918 Armistice' added to commemorate 90th anniversary.
	2010	65th anniversary of World War II[7]	Cosme Saffioti	11,000,000	Features a soldier with a bowed head and hands on a rifle in front of a maple leaf. Two coloured poppies are on each side of the soldier.
	2013	100th Anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition[8]	Bonnie Ross	12,500,000	Features two varieties of frosted accents.
	2013	Life in the North[9]	Tim Pitsiulak	12,500,000	Features two varieties of frosted accents.

125th Anniversary of Confederation

In 1992, to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Confederation, the Mint released twelve commemorative coins, one for each Canadian province and territory at the time. These were the inspiration ^[10] for the US 50 State Quarters program of 1999–2008. Nunavut, which separated from the Northwest Territories seven years later in 1999, was honoured with a special $2 coin.

Image	Province/territory	Date of Release	Artist	Mintage
	Alberta	June 4, 1992	Mel Heath	12,133,000
	British Columbia	November 9, 1992	Carla Egan	14,001,000
	Manitoba	April 7, 1992	Muriel Hope	11,349,000
	New Brunswick	January 9, 1992	Ronald Lambert	12,174,000
	Newfoundland and Labrador	March 5, 1992	Christoper Newhook	11,405,000
	Northwest Territories	February 6, 1992	Beth McEachen	12,580,000
	Nova Scotia	September 9, 1992	Bruce Wood	13,600,000
	Ontario	August 6, 1992	Greg Salmela	14,263,000
	Prince Edward Island	July 7, 1992	Nigel Roe	13,001,000
	Quebec	October 1, 1992	Romualdas Bukauskas	13,607,000
	Saskatchewan	November 5, 1992	Brian Cobb	14,165,000
	Yukon	May 7, 1992	Libby Dulac	10,388,000

Millennium quarters

In April 1998, the Mint announced the Millennium Coin Design Contest, a contest open to all Canadians to submit designs for twenty-four millennium quarters, one for each month of 1999 and 2000. The 1999 designs were meant to look back on Canada's past, while the 2000 designs looked to the future. While the 1999 coins were labeled with their month of issue, the 2000 coins were labeled with the relevant theme (see below).

Image	Month	Theme	Artist	Date of Issue	Mintage
	January 1999	A Country Unfolds	Peter Ka-Kin Poon	January 5, 1999	12,238,559
	February 1999	Etched in Stone	Lonnie Springer	February 1, 1999	13,985,195
	March 1999	The Log Drive	Marjolaine Lavoie		15,157,061
	April 1999	Our Northern Heritage	Kenojuak Ashevak	March 30, 1999	15,214,397
	May 1999	The Voyageurs	Sergiy Minenok	May 3, 1999	14,906,187
	June 1999	From Coast to Coast	Gordon Ho	June 2, 1999	19,821,722
	July 1999	A Nation of People	Maria H. Sarkany	July 1, 1999	16,537,018
	August 1999	The Pioneer Spirit	Alzira Botelho	August 3, 1999	17,621,561
	September 1999	Canada Through a Child’s Eye	Claudia Bertrand	August 27, 1999	31,077,650
	October 1999	A Tribute to First Nations	Jason Edward Read	October 4, 1999	31,964,487
	November 1999	The Airplane Opens the North	Brian R. Bacon		27,437,677
	December 1999	This Is Canada	J.L. Pierre Provencher		42,927,482
	January 2000	Pride Red color was added to the two on Maple Leaf	Donald F. Warkentin	January 6, 2000	50,749,102
	February 2000	Ingenuity	John Jaciw	February 4, 2000	35,812,988
	March 2000	Achievement	Daryl Ann Dorosz		35,135,154
	April 2000	Health	Anny Wassef	April 5, 2000	34,663,619
	May 2000	Natural Legacy	Randy Trantau		36,416,953
	June 2000	Harmony	Haver Demirer	June 1, 2000	34,604,075
	July 2000	Celebration Red color was added to the Flag	Laura Paxton	June 29, 2000	34,816,329
	August 2000	Family	Wade Stephen Baker	August 1, 2000	34,320,111
	September 2000	Wisdom	Cezar Şerbănescu	September 6, 2000	33,993,016
	October 2000	Creativity	Eric (Kong Tat) Hui	October 4, 2000	35,102,206
	November 2000	Freedom	Kathy Vinish	November 1, 2000	33,251,352
	December 2000	Community	Michelle Thibodeau	December 4, 2000	34,378,898

Alberta and Saskatchewan Centennial

In 2005, to celebrate the centennials of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, two commemorative quarters were issued. The public was given the opportunity to vote on the coin design through two toll-free phone numbers.

There were four candidate designs for the Alberta quarter: Big Sky Country, Alberta’s Natural Beauty, A Dynamic Century, and Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. The winning design was Big Sky Country, by Michelle Grant, and depicted an oil derrick with cattle grazing at its base.^[11] The coin had a mintage of 20,640,000.^[12]

There were three candidate designs for the Saskatchewan quarter: The Western Meadowlark, Canada Geese over Wascana Lake, and The Round Dance Celebration. The winning design was Western Meadowlark, designed by Paulette Sapergia.^[13] The coin's mintage was 19,290,000.

2010 Vancouver Olympics

The Olympic coins do not have the inscription 'D.G. Regina' (Latin for 'By the Grace of God, Queen') making the coins "godless circulating coins". There have been a couple of circulation strike mule coins in this series, including 2007 Paralympic wheelchair curling and 2009 Olympic Alpine Skiing coins. With the medalist coins now called the Olympic moments coins, a very small percentage will be a colorized version.

Image	Date of Issue	Sport	Artist	Mintage
	February 23, 2007	Curling	Glen Green	22,000,400
	April 3, 2007	Ice Hockey	Glen Green	22,000,400
	July 11, 2007	Wheelchair curling	Glen Green	22,000,400
	September 12, 2007	Biathlon	Glen Green	22,000,400
	October 24, 2007	Alpine Skiing	Glen Green	22,000,400
	February 20, 2008	Snowboarding	Glen Green	22,000,400
	April 16, 2008	Freestyle Skiing	Glen Green	22,000,400
	November 18, 2008	Figure Skating	Glen Green	22,000,400
	2008	Bobsleigh	Glen Green	22,400,000
	January 15, 2009	Cross Country Skiing	Glen Green	44,400,000
	March 12, 2009	Speed Skating	Glen Green	22,400,000
	2009	Sledge hockey	Glen Green	22,400,000
	September 29, 2009	Men's Ice Hockey	J.B. & RCM engravers	20 000 000
	September 29, 2009	Men's Ice Hockey (colour)	J.B. & RCM engravers	2,800,000
	September 29, 2009	Men's Ice Hockey (colour engraved 2)[14]	J.B. & RCM engravers	200,000[14]
	November 17, 2009	Women's Ice Hockey	J.B. & RCM engravers	TBA
	November 17, 2009	Women's Ice Hockey (colour)	J.B. & RCM engravers	3,000,000
	January 5, 2010	Cindy Klassen	J.B. & RCM engravers	19,000,000 [15]
	January 5, 2010	Cindy Klassen (colour)	J.B. & RCM engravers	3,000,000

2011 Legendary Nature

Image	Date of Issue	Animal	Mintage
	January 2012	Wood bison	6,250,000[16]
	January 2012	Wood bison – colourized (green)	6,250,000[16]
	February 2012	Orca	6,250,000[16]
	February 2012	Orca – colourized (blue)	6,250,000[16]
	March 2012	Peregrine falcon	6,250,000[16]
	March 2012	Peregrine falcon – colourized (yellow)	6,250,000[16]

War of 1812 Bicentennial

Image	Date of Issue	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Notes
	October 13, 2012	Sir Isaac Brock	Bonnie Ross	12,500,000	Half feature a coloured maple leaf from the War of 1812 logo, while the remaining coins have a frosted portrait of Major-General Brock while the maple leaf remains unpainted.[17]
	November 19, 2012	Tecumseh	Bonnie Ross	12,500,000	Half feature a coloured maple leaf from the War of 1812 logo, while the remaining coins have a frosted portrait of Tecumseh while the maple leaf remains unpainted.[18]
	March 18, 2013	Charles-Michel de Salaberry	Bonnie Ross	12,500,000	Half feature a coloured maple leaf from the War of 1812 logo, while the remaining coins have a frosted portrait of Lieutenant Colonel de Salaberry while the maple leaf remains unpainted.[19]
	June 22, 2013	Laura Secord	Bonnie Ross	12,500,000	Half feature a coloured maple leaf from the War of 1812 logo, while the remaining coins have a frosted portrait of Laura Secord while the maple leaf remains unpainted.

First strikes

Year	Theme	Mintage	Issue Price
2004	The Poppy	9,928	$19.95
2005	Alberta Centennial	8,936	$14.95
2005	MOOSE	1,907	$14.95
2005	Saskatchewan Centennial	6,926	$14.95
2005	Year of the Veteran	7,820	$14.95
2006	Medal of Bravery	5,000	$15.95
2006	New Mint Mark	5,000	$29.95
2006	Pink Ribbon	20,000	$15.95

Olympic first strikes

Year	Sport	Artist	Mintage	Issue Price	Release Date
2007	Curling	Glen Green	10,000	$15.95	February 24
2007	Ice Hockey	Glen Green	10,000	$15.95	April 4
2007	Paralympic Curling	Glen Green	10,000	$15.95	July 11
2007	Biathlon	Glen Green	10,000	$15.95	September 12
2007	Alpine Skiing	Glen Green	10,000	$15.95	October 24

Canada Day

Since 2000, the RCM has been issuing colourized quarters on Canada Day with designs aimed to attract young collectors. As with other collector coins issued by the RCM, the Canada Day series coins are non-circulating legal tender.

Year	Theme	Artist	Mintage	Issue Price	Special Notes
2000	Millennium Coloured Coin "Canada Day"	Laura Paxton	26,106	$8.95	1st Canada Day Coin.
2001	Canada Day Coloured Coin	Silke Ware	96,352	$9.95
2002	Canada Day Coloured Coin	Judith Chartier	49,901	$9.95	Version w/o colour was circulated.
2003	Canada Day Coloured Coin	Jade Pearen	63,511	$9.95
2004	Canada Day Coloured Coin	Cosme Saffioti	44,759	$9.95
2004	Canada Day Multi-Ply Plated Steel	Nick Wooster	29,762	$24.95	Part of Canada Day bundle.
2005	Canada Day Coin	Stan Witten		$9.95
2006	Canada Day Coin (coloured featuring two children holding a Canadian flag)			$9.95	Packaged with four Crayola crayons.
2007	Canada Day Coin (coloured featuring RCMP)			$9.95	Packaged with tattoos.
2008	Canada Day Coin (coloured featuring a cool moose in shades with his cap on backwards)			$9.95	Packaged with tattoos.
2009	Canada Day Coin (coloured featuring caricatures of the circulation coin animals [polar bear, beaver, loon and caribou] all in a schooner)			$14.95	Packaged with a postcard and a magnetic frame with character magnets.

Other notable dates

A 1917 quarter featuring King George V

• The 1906 Small Crown is valued in the thousands of dollars even for very poor conditions.
• 1936 marked two valuable variations, the Bar and the Dot, both trend for over $1000 in uncirculated condition.
• The 1951 Low Relief was predominantly only made available in proof-like sets and have a mintage of around 500.
• The 1973 Large Bust is among the most desired Canadian Quarter. They sell for around $300 in Proof Like or Specimen condition, and can sell in the thousands for high end circulation strikes.
• The 1991 quarter had a low mintage, of 459,000
• The 1992 New Brunswick quarter has several rotated die versions, with the 180 degree rotation selling for between $100 and $200 in uncirculated condition.
• 1999 featured mule versions of the September and November quarters. These coins do not have the 25 CENTS mark on them, making them, ironically, legal tender without face value. Either usually sells for over $10 depending on the condition of the coin. The Royal Canadian Mint estimates a combined mintage of 10,000 to 50,000 of the September and November mules.
• The 2000 Millennium Map Mule. Highly sought after by collectors, this is a modern rarity with about 100 known examples, as referenced in population reports of coin certification services (ICCS, CCCS, PCGS, NGC).
• 2000P Caribou: two examples are known to exist. They fetch $40,000 or more (ICCS has graded both in MS-64: ICCS 2010 Population report). Both are in private collections.
• 2000P Creativity: two are known to exist. They fetch $15,000 to $20,000 (ICCS has graded one in MS-62 and the other in MS-66: ICCS 2010 Population report).
• 2000P Community: five are known to exist. They fetch $12,000 to $15,000 (ICCS has graded one in MS-60, two in MS-62, and two in MS-63: ICCS 2010 Population report).

The Tooth Fairy and Friends

Starting in 2011, the mint began selling special sets for newborn babies, birthdays, wedding anniversaries, "Oh Canada" and the Tooth Fairy. The tooth fairy quarters also come packaged separately.^[20]

Facts

• The first commemorative coins were planned for 1927 to celebrate Canada's 60th anniversary. A contest was held and the winner for the twenty-five cent coin was J.A.H. MacDonald; however, the Mint decided to not turn the design into coinage.^[21]
• When coinage was changed in 1937, the caribou (currently on the quarter) was originally planned for the five cent coin, the beaver (nickel) was planned for the ten cent coin, and the Bluenose (dime) was planned for the twenty-five cent coin.^[21]
• The lowest mintage of any circulated quarter post-World War II was in 1991; low mintage was attributed to a work stoppage and using up stock in preparation for the release of the commemorative quarters the following year. The total mintage was a mere 459,000 including collector sets and proofs.^[22]
• Canadian quarters were not issued into circulation in 1997 and 1998. In 1997, only 525,257 quarters were produced. In 1998, only 395,617 quarters were produced; even less than in 1991. All of them were issued in collector sets or proofs and none were issued into circulation.
• The caribou on the 25-cent piece dates back to 1936 when a change in the sovereign's image on circulation currency prompted the Canadian government to modify the designs on the reverse side of coins as well. The caribou design was created by Canadian artist Emanuel Hahn, initially used in 1937. It has been temporarily replaced in some years; in 1967 for the Canadian centennial (with a Canada lynx), in 1973 to celebrate the centennial of the North-West Mounted Police, in 1992 for Canada's 125th anniversary, and in 1999 and 2000 by the winning designs of the Millennium coin program.

References

1. http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/25-cents-5300010#.VkboI2SrTow
2. "A familiar face – the 25-cent coin". Royal Canadian Mint.
3. CBC.ca
4. Charlton Standard of Canadian Coins, p.135
5. Sapergia, Paulett. "Saskatchewan Centennial 25 Cent Coin". Chickadee Designs. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
6. Royal Canadian Mint 2006 Annual Report, p. 46
7. National Defense Canada - Army News
8. Mint.ca - News Releases
9. Mint.ca - News Releases
10. Canada and U.S. 50 States
11. "Alberta's Centennial Coin". Retrieved 2007-05-07.
12. Royal Canadian Mint 2005 Annual Report PDF, page 38. Retrieved May 7, 2007
13. Saskatchewan Residents Invited to Vote on 2005 Centennial Quarter - Government of Saskatchewan
14. Canadian Coin News, "Engraved 2 variety an instant 25-cent key date", p.1, Volume 47, Number 18, December 22 to January 4, 2010 & Canadian Coin News, "Mint sticking to guns on variety report", p.31, Volume 47, Number 19, January 5 to January 18, 2010
15. Coins and Canada - Canadian Coins, Price Guide, Errors et Varieties and Bank Notes
16. Celebrating 100 years of Parks Canada | Royal Canadian Mint
17. War of 1812 Hero Major-General Sir Isaac Brock Commemorated on Royal Canadian Mint 25-Cent Circulation Coin
18. War of 1812 Hero Tecumseh Commemorated on Royal Canadian Mint 25-Cent Circulation Coin
19. http://www.mint.ca/store/news/news-18300006?cat=News+releases&nId=700002&parentnId=600004&nodeGroup=About+the+Mint#.UVjbKp9zYSt
20. 2012 CANADA Tooth Fairy Gift Sett Special quarter reverse Mint sealed | eBay
21. Striking Impressions, James A. Haxby, 1983, ISBN 0-660-91234-1
22. Charlton Standard of Canadian Coins, p.128

External links

• Royal Canadian Mint Act
• Coins and Canada Price Guide
• Royal Canadian Numismatic Association
• Royal Canadian Mint Remembrance Day Poppy Coin