1902 H Canadian Quarter
The 1902 H Canadian Quarter is a Canadian quarter struck for circulation with 800,000 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1902
- Circulation mintage
- 800,000
- 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 1902 H Canadian Quarter worth?
At 800,000, the 1902 H 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 1902 H Canadian Quarter rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian quarters. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 1902 H Canadian quarters were made?
- 800,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1902 H Canadian Quarter made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper). It weighs 5.81 g and measures 23.62 mm.
- Is the 1902 H 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 1902 quarter in context
This is the last Canadian quarter from the Heaton mint in Birmingham and the only Edward VII quarter with a mint mark. Heaton struck 800,000, well above the 464,000 London coins of the same year. It carries Edward VII's crowned bust and the maple wreath reverse, in sterling silver. Worn coins are common enough; sharp ones with a clear H are the ones to keep.
How to recognize it
The 1902 H Canadian Quarter is round, 23.62 mm across and sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper).
1902 H Canadian Quarter by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1902 H Canadian Quarter ranks 30th lowest of 147 Canadian quarter dates and varieties from 1870 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1871 H Canadian Quarter (748,000); the next more common is the 1905 Canadian Quarter (800,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Canadian Quarter with 434.1 million, about 543 times as many. The scarcest is the 1889 Canadian Quarter with 66,324, 12 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1902 output was 1.3 times the 1901 figure and about the same as 1903. Other 1902 quarters: 1902 Canadian Quarter (464,000).
Over the 1900s the Mint produced 10.4 million quarters across 11 dates and varieties; the 1902 H Canadian Quarter accounts for 7.7% of that.
What to check on your 1902 H 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.
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 | 1902 |
| Circulation mintage | 800,000 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver, 7.5% copper) |
| Weight | 5.81 g |
| Diameter | 23.62 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 1902 Canadian quarters
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1902 Canadian Quarter | 464,000 | Small premium |
Mintage figures: Quarter (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.