1938 Canadian Quarter

Quick answers

Is the 1938 Canadian Quarter rare?

Not by mintage. 3.15 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.

How many 1938 Canadian quarters were made?

3,149,245 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1938 Canadian Quarter made of?

80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 5.83 g and measures 23.62 mm.

Is the 1938 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.

How to recognize it

The 1938 Canadian Quarter is round, 23.62 mm across and 80% silver, 20% copper.

1938 Canadian Quarter by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 1938 Canadian Quarter ranks 58th lowest of 147 Canadian quarter dates and varieties from 1870 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1929 Canadian Quarter (2.69 million); the next more common is the 1917 Canadian Quarter (3.37 million).

For scale, the most common is the 2000 Canadian Quarter with 434.1 million, about 138 times as many. The scarcest is the 1889 Canadian Quarter with 66,324, 47 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1938 output was 1.2 times the 1937 figure and 1.1 times fewer than 1939.

Over the 1930s the Mint produced 13.9 million quarters across 11 dates and varieties; the 1938 Canadian Quarter accounts for 23% of that.

What to check on your 1938 Canadian Quarter

• Check the date first: silver Canadian quarters carry dates from 1870 to 1968; this one has 0.15 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.

George VI caribou quarters, 1937 to 1952

The coins of 1937 changed the look of Canadian money. Instead of crowns and wreaths, the new reverses showed Canadian subjects and the quarter got a woodland caribou's head by the sculptor Emanuel Hahn. The obverse carries Thomas Humphrey Paget's bare-headed portrait of George VI with the legend GEORGIVS VI D:G: REX ET IND: IMP:. The coin stayed at 80 percent silver, 5.83 g and 23.62 mm, with about 0.15 troy ounces of pure silver. The caribou has been the regular quarter's reverse ever since.

The Second World War brought record demand, with 13,559,575 quarters dated 1943. India's independence in 1947 then forced a change to the legend, because the king was no longer Emperor of India. New dies without ET IND: IMP: were not ready at the start of 1948, so the mint kept striking 1947 dated coins and marked them with a small maple leaf after the date. Quarters with the new legend, GEORGIVS VI DEI GRATIA REX, are dated 1948 to 1952.

The dates to look for in this group are 1946, 1947 and 1948, which all have mintages between about 1.5 and 2.6 million. Add the 1947 maple leaf, the best known variety of the reign. Compare the legend with the date: a quarter showing ET IND: IMP: should be dated 1947 or earlier. George VI died in February 1952, but quarters dated 1952 still carry his portrait. Wear shows on the king's hair above the ear and on the caribou's nose and the fur of its neck.

Mintage chart

Specifications