Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 25 Cents 1953-1964, KM# 52, Canada, Elizabeth II
  • 25 Cents 1953-1964, KM# 52, Canada, Elizabeth II
  • 25 Cents 1953-1964, KM# 52, Canada, Elizabeth II, 1953 Obverse Varieties: Shoulder and No Shoulder Fold
  • 25 Cents 1953-1964, KM# 52, Canada, Elizabeth II, 1953 Reverse Varieties: Small or Large Date
Description

The standard version of this obverse is the "Shoulder Fold (Small Date)" variety. Because of die polishing a variant exists in 1953 and 1954 coins where the shoulder strap cannot be easily seen. This variant is referred to as "No Shoulder Fold (Large Date)". The main difference between the two varieties on the reverse side is the size of the numbers in the date (small or large). There are also a number of minor differences.

Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 1926–2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and of 14 other Commonwealth realms. Her reign of 70 years and seven months, which began on 6 February 1952, was the longest of any British monarch in history.

When her father died in February 1952, Elizabeth—then 25 years old—became queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), as well as Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth reigned as a constitutional monarch through major political changes such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland, devolution in the United Kingdom, the decolonisation of Africa, and the United Kingdom's accession to the European Communities and withdrawal from the European Union. The number of her realms varied over time as territories have gained independence and some realms have become republics.

Times of personal significance have included the births and marriages of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, her coronation in 1953 and the celebrations of her Silver, Golden, Diamond, and Platinum jubilees in 1977, 2002, 2012, and 2022, respectively.

Obverse

First portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II (laureate bust) facing right, wearing a wreath. It was introduced in 1953, one year after the Queen acceded to the throne. It captures the grace and youth of the 26-year-old new Queen. Her hair is restrained by a laureate crown which is tied with ribbons at the back of her head. The Queen's shoulders are bare and the truncation follows the curve of the coin. The engravers initials M.G. are incuse, generally faint, and are located on the raised edge found at the base of the bust.

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA means Elizabeth II, by the grace of God, Queen

Engraver: Mary Gillick

ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA
M·G·

Reverse

A caribou is accompanied by the facial value and the country name. Engraver's initials below.

The reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), also known as the caribou in North America, is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. What was once the second-largest herd is the migratory boreal woodland caribou George River herd in Canada, with former variations between 28,000 and 385,000. The North American range of caribou extends from Alaska through Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut into the boreal forest and south through the Canadian Rockies and the Columbia and Selkirk Mountains.

Arctic peoples have depended on caribou for food, clothing, and shelter, such as the Caribou Inuit, the inland-dwelling Inuit of the Kivalliq Region in northern Canada, the Caribou Clan in Yukon, the Inupiat, the Inuvialuit, the Hän, the Northern Tutchone, and the Gwich'in (who followed the Porcupine caribou for millennia).

Male and female reindeer can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between population and season. Antlers are typically larger on males. In traditional festive legend, Santa Claus's reindeer pull a sleigh through the night sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to good children on Christmas Eve.

Engraver: Emanuel Hahn

CANADA 1963
25
Cents
H

Edge

25 Cents

1st portrait
KM# 52 Schön# 52
Characteristics
Material Silver
Fineness 0.800
Weight 5.83 g
Diameter 23.62 mm
Thickness 1.52 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Canadian Mint (RCM)

Related coins

Silver, 5.81 g, ⌀ 23.62 mm
Without DEI GRATIA

Silver, 5.83 g, ⌀ 23.62 mm

Silver, 5.83 g, ⌀ 23.62 mm