2002 P Canadian Quarter
The 2002 P Canadian Quarter is a Canadian quarter struck for circulation with 156.1 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2002
- Circulation mintage
- 156,105,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 2002 P Canadian Quarter worth?
With 156.1 million made, the 2002 P Canadian Quarter is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins with full luster, recognized varieties and genuine errors interest collectors.
What would make yours worth more:
- Full uncirculated luster
- A recognized variety or genuine error
- Coins from a specimen or proof set
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 2002 P Canadian Quarter rare?
- No. 156.1 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2002 P Canadian quarters were made?
- 156,105,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2002 P Canadian Quarter made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 4.4 g and measures 23.88 mm.
- Is the 2002 P Canadian Quarter still legal tender?
- Yes. Every Canadian quarter is legal tender at 25 cents.
The 2002 quarter in context
In 2002 Queen Elizabeth II marked fifty years on the throne and Canada's circulating coins carried the double date 1952-2002 on the obverse for her Golden Jubilee. The quarter kept the caribou on the reverse, while the queen's portrait side gained the commemorative dates. The published figure is 156,105,000 Jubilee quarters, all in nickel-plated steel with the P mark (one catalog gives 152,485,000). She was the first monarch to celebrate a Golden Jubilee as queen of Canada since Victoria in 1887.
The double date is the whole point. It turns an everyday caribou quarter into a small piece of royal history and it is easy to spot. The Jubilee year also brought commemorative coins aimed at collectors, but the circulating quarter is the one most Canadians handled. Because so many were struck, it is common today and turns up regularly in change. The first date refers to 1952, when Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, George VI. Coins of other denominations dated 2002 carry the same double date, so the Jubilee ran right through Canadian change that year.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA and the double date 1952-2002. Look for both dates; a quarter showing only one is not the Jubilee version. The reverse is Hahn's caribou with CANADA and 25 CENTS. The coin is nickel-plated steel with a small P, weighing 4.4 g and measuring 23.88 mm. It sticks to a magnet. Wear tends to hit the crown and the caribou's antlers first. The Jubilee dates are small, so read them under good light. The caribou side has nothing to show the anniversary. The edge is reeded.
2002 P Canadian Quarter by the numbers
By the numbers, the 2002 P Canadian Quarter ranks 132nd lowest of 147 Canadian quarter dates and varieties from 1870 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1975 Canadian Quarter (141.1 million); the next more common is the 1985 Canadian Quarter (158.7 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Canadian Quarter with 434.1 million, about 2.8 times as many. The scarcest is the 1889 Canadian Quarter with 66,324, 2354 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2002 output was 2.8 times the 2001 figure and 1.8 times the 2003 figure.
Over the 2000s the Mint produced 2.66 billion quarters across 12 dates and varieties; the 2002 P Canadian Quarter accounts for 5.9% of that.
What to check on your 2002 P Canadian Quarter
- Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2002 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Look for full luster and no scratches. Modern quarters only interest collectors in uncirculated condition or with a recognized variety.
At 156,105,000, the Jubilee quarter is a face value coin in circulation. It makes a nice souvenir of the queen's fifty years. Uncirculated Jubilee coins carry a small premium. Sorting 2002 quarters by their obverse is a quick way to see which ones carry the Jubilee dates, so it is worth a glance at every 2002 you find. Coins with crisp dates and a sharp crown are the best ones to keep. Worn ones can be spent without a second thought.
Plated steel quarters, 2001 to 2022
To cut costs, the Royal Canadian Mint moved the quarter to steel plated with nickel. The new coins weigh 4.4 g against 5.07 g for pure nickel and carry a small P, for plated, below the portrait. In 2001 the mint made both kinds, so that year comes in nickel and in plated steel. Both are magnetic, which surprises people, so weight and the P are the reliable ways to sort them. In 2006 the P gave way to the mint's own maple leaf logo.
Portraits changed too. Every 2002 coin carries the double date 1952-2002 for the queen's Golden Jubilee. In 2003 Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait replaced de Pédery-Hunt's crowned one, so 2003-P quarters come both ways. The quarter also became Canada's favorite coin for commemoratives: the 2004 poppy quarter was the first colored coin issued for general circulation and later years brought designs for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, the War of 1812 and Canada's 150th anniversary.
Most quarters from these years are face value coins with mintages in the tens or hundreds of millions. The 2001 nickel quarter, at 8,415,000, is the one to check for, along with the 2003-P crowned and uncrowned pair if you want a complete set. Weigh any 2001 that has no P. Commemoratives with color draw more attention when clean and unscratched. Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, ending a run of her portraits on the quarter that began in 1953.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 25 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2002 |
| Circulation mintage | 156,105,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 4.4 g |
| Diameter | 23.88 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Why do 2002 Canadian quarters say 1952-2002?
The double date marks Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, fifty years since she became queen in 1952. Canada's circulating coins dated 2002 carried it on the obverse beside her portrait.
Is the 2002 Golden Jubilee quarter rare?
No. 156,105,000 were struck in nickel-plated steel, so it is a common coin worth face value in circulated condition. Uncirculated examples carry only a small premium. It was a souvenir in everyone's pocket.
Mintage figures: Quarter (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.