2016 Canadian Quarter
The 2016 Canadian Quarter is a Canadian quarter struck for circulation with 106.9 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2016
- Circulation mintage
- 106,880,000
- 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 2016 Canadian Quarter worth?
With 106.9 million made, the 2016 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 2016 Canadian Quarter rare?
- No. 106.9 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2016 Canadian quarters were made?
- 106,880,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2016 Canadian Quarter made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 4.4 g and measures 23.88 mm.
- Is the 2016 Canadian Quarter still legal tender?
- Yes. Every Canadian quarter is legal tender at 25 cents.
The 2016 quarter in context
Back above 100 million, the 2016 has a published figure of 106,880,000. It is a plated steel caribou quarter with Susanna Blunt's portrait of the queen and Hahn's caribou, 4.4 g and 23.88 mm. Circulated coins are face value; uncirculated ones from rolls carry at most a small premium. Worn ones are plentiful.
How to recognize it
The 2016 Canadian Quarter is round, 23.88 mm across and nickel-plated steel.
2016 Canadian Quarter by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2016 Canadian Quarter ranks 119th lowest of 147 Canadian quarter dates and varieties from 1870 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2018 Canadian Quarter (102.6 million); the next more common is the 2021 Canadian Quarter (110.6 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2000 Canadian Quarter with 434.1 million, about 4.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 1889 Canadian Quarter with 66,324, 1611 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2016 output was 1.1 times the 2015 figure and about the same as 2017.
Over the 2010s the Mint produced 1.27 billion quarters across 10 dates and varieties; the 2016 Canadian Quarter accounts for 8.4% of that.
What to check on your 2016 Canadian Quarter
- Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2016 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.
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 | 2016 |
| Circulation mintage | 106,880,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 4.4 g |
| Diameter | 23.88 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Mintage figures: Quarter (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.