Canadian Quarters 1870 to 2024: Silver, Caribou and Nickel

Is your quarter silver? Check the date

The date settles it for most coins. Canada lowered the silver content in steps before dropping it altogether.

• 1870 to 1919: sterling silver, 92.5%
• 1920 to 1966: 80% silver
• 1967: 80% silver early in the year, 50% later
• 1968: 50% silver at first, then pure nickel
• 1969 to 2000: nickel, as are the 2001 coins without a P
• 2001 onward: plated steel, marked with a small P from 2001 to 2006

Every Canadian quarter, 1870 to 2024

Quarters dated 1967 and earlier are silver. Where two varieties share one figure, the mintage covers both.

The magnet test

Silver isn't attracted to a magnet. Canadian nickel is. So is plated steel, which grips hardest of all. That makes a fridge magnet the quickest way to sort a 1968 quarter: if it ignores the magnet it's the 50% silver kind, with 71,464,000 made. If it sticks, it's one of the 88,686,931 nickel coins.

A magnet can't separate the two 1967 alloys, since neither is magnetic and they look the same. Their combined mintage is 48,855,500. It won't help with 2001 either, as nickel and steel both stick. Look instead for the P on the portrait side: the 2001 P is plated steel with 55,773,000 made, while the 2001 without a P is nickel and much scarcer at 8,415,000.

Victoria, Edward VII and George V

The first Dominion quarters came in 1870, with Queen Victoria on one side and the value and date inside a maple wreath under a crown on the other. Many Victorian dates were struck at the Heaton mint in Birmingham, England. Those carry an H on the reverse. Mintages were small. The 1889 had just 66,324, the lowest of any regular Canadian quarter.

Edward VII followed in 1902 and George V in 1911. The 1911 coins left off DEI GRATIA, by the grace of God, which caused enough of a fuss that the words came back in 1912.

The caribou from 1937

George VI brought new reverses for every coin. The quarter got Emanuel Hahn's caribou head, still in use today. Two famous varieties come from the changeovers. The 1936 dot, 153,322 made, was struck early in 1937 with old dies and a dot below the date. The 1947 maple leaf was struck in 1948 with a tiny leaf after the date, while the King's new title was still waiting for dies.

Elizabeth II arrived in 1953. That year comes in two portrait versions, with and without a shoulder fold, sharing a combined 10,546,769.

Centennial, Mounties and provinces

In 1967 the caribou made way for a bobcat by Alex Colville, part of his set of animals for Canada's centennial, with the dates 1867 and 1967. In 1973 a Mountie on horseback marked the centenary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Most of those have a small bust of the Queen; a scarce few use the larger portrait. In 1992 twelve quarters, one for each province and territory, celebrated the 125th anniversary of Confederation.

Nickel and plated steel

From 1969 the quarter was pure nickel. Mintages ran into the tens and hundreds of millions, with a few lean years: 1970 at 10,302,010, 1983 at 13,162,000 and 1991 at just 459,000. Plated steel took over in 2001. Coins from 2001 to 2006 carry a P. The 2002 includes a Golden Jubilee version with the dates 1952 and 2002, while 2003 has both crowned and uncrowned portraits of the Queen. King Charles III has since replaced her on newer coins. The 2024 issue reached 82,560,000.

Frequently asked questions