1908 Canadian Quarter
The 1908 Canadian Quarter is a Canadian quarter struck for circulation with 495,016 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1908
- Circulation mintage
- 495,016
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1908 Canadian Quarter worth?
At 495,016, the 1908 Canadian Quarter has a smaller run than most Canadian quarters, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1908 Canadian Quarter rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian quarters. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 1908 Canadian quarters were made?
- 495,016 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1908 Canadian Quarter made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper). It weighs 5.81 g and measures 23.62 mm.
- Is the 1908 Canadian Quarter still legal tender?
- Yes. Every Canadian quarter is legal tender at 25 cents, but a silver one is worth more for its metal than its face value.
The 1908 quarter in context
The 1908 is the first Canadian quarter made in Canada. A branch of the Royal Mint opened in Ottawa in January 1908, ending nearly four decades in which every Canadian quarter came from London or Birmingham. The new mint struck 495,016 quarters dated 1908, a modest first year output. The same mint began striking gold sovereigns that year too, marked with a small C. Until 1908, every Canadian quarter had crossed the Atlantic before reaching a bank.
Ottawa's figures read differently from London's. Where many earlier mintages are round thousands, the Ottawa records give exact counts, as with 1,335,929 for 1909 and 3,577,569 for 1910. The 1908 is one of three Edward VII dates under half a million, with 1902 and 1904, which makes it one of the scarcer coins of the reign. Collectors who like firsts value it as the start of Canadian made silver coinage, the beginning of a line that leads to today's Royal Canadian Mint. The Ottawa mint remained a branch of the Royal Mint until 1931.
How to recognize it
Edward VII's crowned and robed bust by George William de Saulles fills the obverse, framed by EDWARDVS VII DEI GRATIA REX IMPERATOR. The reverse carries 25 CENTS, CANADA and 1908 inside a maple wreath topped by a crown. Nothing on the coin marks it as an Ottawa product; there is no mint mark, so it looks just like the London quarters before it. The coin is sterling silver, about 5.8 g, with roughly 0.173 troy ounces of pure silver. On worn coins the 8 can lose its inner loops and look like a 0 or a 6, so check the last digit carefully.
1908 Canadian Quarter by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1908 Canadian Quarter ranks 20th lowest of 147 Canadian quarter dates and varieties from 1870 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1927 Canadian Quarter (468,096); the next more common is the 1892 Canadian Quarter (510,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Canadian Quarter with 434.1 million, about 877 times as many. The scarcest is the 1889 Canadian Quarter with 66,324, 7.5 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1908 output was 4.2 times fewer than 1907 and 2.7 times fewer than 1909.
Over the 1900s the Mint produced 10.4 million quarters across 11 dates and varieties; the 1908 Canadian Quarter accounts for 4.7% of that.
What to check on your 1908 Canadian Quarter
- Check the date first: silver Canadian quarters carry dates from 1870 to 1968; this one has 0.1728 troy oz. Silver coins are not magnetic and ring clearly when dropped on a hard surface.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot at once and that cut the value of silver dates sharply.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older quarters.
At 495,016, the 1908 is scarcer than most Edward VII dates and carries a collector premium in all grades. Worn coins are what usually turn up, with the beard and crown flattened. A 1908 with crisp detail is uncommon and well worth protecting. Like every quarter of the reign it should not be cleaned. If you are putting together a set that shows where Canada's coins were made, this is the coin to represent the opening of Ottawa. Many survivors are holed or scratched from use, which cuts interest considerably.
Edward VII quarters, 1902 to 1910
Victoria died in January 1901 and quarters dated 1901 still carry her portrait. Edward VII appears on coins dated 1902, in a crowned and robed bust modeled by George William de Saulles, with the legend EDWARDVS VII DEI GRATIA REX IMPERATOR. The reverse kept the idea of a maple wreath and crown around 25 CENTS and the date. The metal did not change either. An Edwardian quarter is still sterling silver and holds the same 0.173 troy ounces or so of pure silver as a Victorian one.
What did change in these years was where Canada's coins came from. The Heaton mint in Birmingham struck its last quarters, marked with an H, in 1902. The Royal Mint in London supplied the rest until January 1908. That month a branch of the Royal Mint opened in Ottawa and from then on Canadian quarters were made in Canada. Mintages grew with the economy, from 400,000 in 1904 to 3,577,569 in 1910, the biggest run of the reign.
With an Edward VII quarter, the date does most of the work. The lower mintage years are 1904, 1902 and 1908, each under half a million, while 1907 and 1910 are the easiest to find. The 1902-H is the only quarter of the reign with a mint mark, so look below the wreath on any 1902. Wear shows first on the king's beard, the top of the crown and the leaf veins. Edward died in May 1910, but quarters dated 1910 still show him; George V's portrait arrives on coins dated 1911.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 25 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1908 |
| Circulation mintage | 495,016 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) |
| Weight | 5.81 g |
| Diameter | 23.62 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Was the 1908 the first quarter made in Canada?
Yes. The Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint opened in January 1908 and the quarters dated that year were its first. Earlier Canadian quarters were struck in London or by the Heaton mint in Birmingham.
Does the 1908 Canadian quarter have a mint mark?
No. Ottawa did not mark its quarters, so the 1908 looks like the London coins before it. The date is the only way to know it was among the first quarters struck in Canada.
Mintage figures: Quarter (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.