Quarter (Canadian coin) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Quarter

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

The quarter, also known as the quarter dollar, is a Canadian coin worth 25 cents. This means it's one-fourth of a whole Canadian dollar. It's a small, round coin with a silver color. The Royal Canadian Mint officially calls it the 25-cent piece. However, most people just call it a "quarter," similar to the American quarter. In Canadian French, it's sometimes called a caribou or trente sous (which means "thirty sous"). These coins are made at the Royal Canadian Mint's factory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

How the Canadian Quarter is Made: A Look at its Materials

The materials used to make the Canadian quarter have changed over the years. This table shows what the coins were made of at different times:

From 1920 until 1967, the quarter contained a certain amount of silver. It had one-quarter as much silver as the silver dollar coin.

Special Designs: Commemorative Quarters

Usually, the back of the Canadian quarter shows a caribou. But the quarter is also the coin that changes its design most often in Canada. This is where special "commemorative" designs are used to celebrate different events or themes.

For example, in 2004, a quarter was made to honor Remembrance Day. It had a red poppy on the back, which is a symbol for that day in Canada. This coin even caused a strange international event! Some American military contractors, who didn't know about the coin's design, thought these coins had tiny nanotechnology for espionage (spying).

Unique Commemorative Designs

Here are some of the special designs that have appeared on Canadian quarters:

Image	Year	Theme	Artist	Notes
	1967	Canada's 100th Birthday	Alex Colville	The back shows a Canada lynx.
	1973	100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police	Paul Cederberg	The back shows an RCMP officer on horseback.
	2002	Canadian Maple Leaf	Judith Chartier	The back shows small human figures holding up a large maple leaf.
	2004	Acadia (Île Ste. Croix)	R.R. Carmichael, Stan Witten	The back shows a 17th-century sailing ship and the dates 1604–2004.
	2004	Remembrance Day	Cosme Saffioti, Stan Witten	The back has a red corn poppy. This was the first colored coin for general use in the world!
	2005	Year of the Veteran	Elaine Gobel	The back shows the faces of a young and an old veteran.
	2006	Pink Ribbon	Cosme Saffioti	This was the second colored coin for general use. The color was made to be more scratch-resistant.
	2006	Medal of Bravery	RCM Engravers	The back shows the design of a Medal of Bravery: a maple leaf inside a wreath.
	2008	Remembrance Day 90th anniversary	Cosme Saffioti, Stan Witten	This was a re-issue of the 2004 poppy design, but with better red color. It also says "1918 Armistice" to mark 90 years since World War I ended.
	2010	65th anniversary of World War II	Cosme Saffioti	Shows a soldier with a bowed head and a rifle, in front of a maple leaf. There are two colored poppies on each side.
	2013	100th anniversary of the Canadian Arctic Expedition	Bonnie Ross	Some versions had frosted accents.
	2013	Life in the North	Tim Pitsiulak	Some versions had frosted accents, showing either a Bowhead whale or Belugas.
	2015	50th anniversary of the Canadian flag	Bonnie Ross	Shows fifty children holding the flag of Canada. Half of these coins were colored.
	2015	100th anniversary of the poem In Flanders Field	Laurie McGaw	Features a poppy. Half of these coins were colored.
	2017	Canada 150	Joelle Wong	Shows a turtle, bird, and beaver with aboriginal patterns. They are reaching towards a plant growing from hands, symbolizing how Canadians protect the future. The theme is "Canada's Future."
	2017	125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup	Steve Hepburn	Shows the Stanley Cup, with two hockey players. One is from early hockey days, and the other is a modern player.

1992: Celebrating 125 Years of Canada

In 1992, to celebrate 125 years since Canada became a country, the Mint made twelve special coins. Each coin represented one of Canada's provinces and territories at that time. These coins later inspired the US 50 State Quarters program. Nunavut, which became a territory in 1999, got its own special $2 coin later.

1999–2000: Millennium Quarters

In 1998, the Mint held a "Millennium Coin Design Contest." Canadians could submit designs for twenty-four special quarters. These coins were released each month in 1999 and 2000. The 1999 designs looked back at Canada's past. The 2000 designs looked forward to the future. The 1999 coins were labeled with their month, while the 2000 coins had a theme name.

2005: Alberta and Saskatchewan 100th Birthdays

In 2005, two special quarters were made to celebrate the 100th birthdays of Alberta and Saskatchewan. People got to vote for their favorite coin design by calling a special phone number.

For Alberta, the winning design was "Big Sky Country" by Michelle Grant. It showed an oil derrick (a machine used to get oil from the ground) with cattle grazing nearby.

For Saskatchewan, the winning design was "Western Meadowlark" by Paulette Sapergia. It featured a western meadowlark bird.

2007–2010: Vancouver 2010 Olympics

The Royal Canadian Mint released a series of quarters to celebrate the 2010 Winter Olympics held in Vancouver. Each coin featured a different Olympic or Paralympic sport.

2011: Legendary Nature

In 2011, the Mint released a series of quarters featuring Canadian animals.

2012: War of 1812 200th Anniversary

To mark 200 years since the War of 1812, the Mint released quarters honoring heroes from that time.

Fun Facts About Canadian Quarters

A 1917 quarter featuring King George V

• The very first special coins were planned for 1927. This was to celebrate Canada's 60th birthday. A design for the quarter was chosen, but it was never actually made into a coin.
• When coin designs changed in 1937, the caribou (which is on the quarter now) was first meant for the five-cent coin. The beaver (on the nickel) was planned for the ten-cent coin. The Bluenose ship (on the dime) was planned for the twenty-five-cent coin.
• The fewest quarters made for circulation after World War II was in 1991. This happened because of a work stoppage and preparing for new special quarters the next year.
• Canadian quarters were not put into general circulation in 1997 and 1998. The few that were made in those years were only for collector sets.
• The caribou design on the 25-cent piece has been there since 1936. This was when the image of the King on the coins changed. The Canadian government decided to update the back of the coins too. The caribou design was created by Canadian artist Emanuel Hahn and first used in 1937. It has been temporarily replaced sometimes, like in 1967 for Canada's 100th birthday (with a Canada lynx), in 1973 for the North-West Mounted Police's 100th birthday, in 1992 for Canada's 125th anniversary, and in 1999 and 2000 for the Millennium coin program.