Quarter (Canadian coin)

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The quarter is a Canadian coin, valued at 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25 cent coin, but in practice the term quarter is nearly universal.

In Canadian French, the quarter is commonly (and counter-intuitively) called a trente sous (a "thirty cents"). This is because the sou originally referred to a monetary unit used in France (and also New France), whereas today in Canadian French it means a Canadian cent, and somewhere in history 120 sous of New France came to be worth the equivalent of what eventually became the Canadian dollar. The exact exchange-rate mechanism by which this came to be is the subject of various occasionally contradictory theories. [1] [2]

History of Composition [3]

Years	Weight	Diameter/Shape	Composition
2000–present	4.4 g	23.88 mm	94.0% steel, 3.8% copper, 2.2% nickel plating
1968–1999	5.05 g	23.88 mm	99.9% nickel
1967–1968	5.05 g	23.88 mm	50% silver, 50% copper
1953–1967	5.83 g	23.88 mm	80% silver, 20% copper
1920–1952	5.83 g	23.62 mm	80% silver, 20% copper
1910–1919	5.83 g	23.62 mm	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1908–1910	5.81 g	23.62 mm	92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

Note: The coin was made slightly thinner in 1978.

Commemorative Reverses

This coin has the most commonly altered reverse in Canada, being the usual venue for commemorative issues. These include:

• 1967: Canadian centennial; all coins had unique reverses, the 25 cent coin had a bobcat
• 1973: Centennial of the RCMP, depicting a mounted RCMP officer
• 1992: 125th anniversary of Confederation; 12 reverses, one for each province and territory.
• 1999: Millennium series; monthly issues (named by month), each with a theme from the previous millennium
• 2000: Millennium series continued; monthly themed issues (named by theme) for the coming millennium
• 2002: Double date commemorating the ascension Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II with the 135th years of National Pride maple leaf design. The coin was issued for 2 months starting Canada Day. Regular design exists as well featuring the same double date "1952-2002".
• 2004: Acadia issue; a 17th century sailing ship called Bonne-Renommée, and the dates 1604-2004
• 2004: Colourized poppy image for Remembrance Day - This was the first coloured general circulation coin in the world.
• 2005 (3): Alberta centennial; Saskatchewan centennial; "Year of the Veteran"
• 2006 (2): Colourized pink ribbon, for breast cancer awareness; Medal of Bravery

Since 2000, the RCM has been issuing colourized quarters on Canada Day with designs aimed to attract young collectors. As with other collector coins issued by the RCM, the Canada Day series coins are legal tender.

[edit] Millennium Twenty-Five Cent Coins

The following is a list of the winning themes and artists for the 1999 and 2000 Millennium Coins:^[1]

1999

Month	Theme	Artist	Mintage
January 1999	A Country Unfolds	P. Ka-Kin Poon	12,238,559
February 1999	Etched in Stone	L. Springer	13,985,195
March 1999	The Log Drive	M. Lavoie	15,157,061
April 1999	Our Northern Heritage	Ken Ojnak Ashevac	15,214,397
May 1999	The Voyageurs	S. Minenok	14,906,187
June 1999	Coast to Coast	G. Ho	19,821,722
July 1999	A Nation of People	M.H. Sarkany	16,537,018
August 1999	The Pioneer Spirit	A. Botelho	17,621,561
September 1999	Canada Through a Child’s Eye	C. Bertrand	31,077,650
October 1999	A Tribute to the First Nation	J.E. Read	31,964,487
November 1999	The Air Plane Opens The North	B.R. Bacon	27,437,677
December 1999	This is Canada	J.L.P. Provencher	42,927,482

2000

Month	Theme	Artist	Mintage
January 2000	Pride	Donald F. Warkentin	50,749,102
February 2000	Ingenuity	John Jaciw	35,812,988
March 2000	Achievement	Daryl Dorosz	35,135,154
April 2000	Health	Annie Wassef	34,663,619
May 2000	Natural Legacy	Randy Trantau	36,416,953
June 2000	Harmony	Haver Demirer	34,604,075
July 2000	Celebration	Laura Paxton	34,816,329
August 2000	Family	Wade Stephen Baker	34,320,111
September 2000	Wisdom	Cezar Şerbănescu	33,993,016
October 2000	Creativity	Jerik (Kong Tat) Hui	35,102,206
November 2000	Freedom	Kathy Vinish	33,251,352
December 2000	Community	Michelle Thibodeau	34,378,898

[edit] External links

• Royal Canadian Mint's Official Website
• Royal Canadian Mint Act
• Canadian Numismatic Association
• Numismatic Network Canada
• Canadian Coin News

Canadian banknotes and coins Topics: Bank of Canada | Canadian dollar | Commemorative coins | Royal Canadian Mint Canadian banknotes: $5 | $10 | $20 | $50 | $100 | Withdrawn banknotes Canadian coinage: 1¢ | 5¢ | 10¢ | 25¢ | 50¢ | $1 (Loonie) | $2 (Toonie)