I was surprised by the amount of silver in the coin also. I was doing some research on them and here's what I found. Still one heck of a find and congrats on your oldest coin to date! HH to all, Nancy
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE CANADIAN QUARTER:
DATE: 1870 to 1910
COMPOSITION: .925 Silver, .075 Copper
WEIGHT: 5.81 grams
DIAMETER: 23.62 mm
DATE: 1910 to 1919
COMPOSITION: .925 Silver, .075 Copper
WEIGHT: 5.83 grams
DIAMETER: 23.62 mm
DATE: 1920 to 1952
COMPOSITION: .800 Silver, .200 Copper
WEIGHT: 5.83 grams
DIAMETER: 23.62 mm
DATE: 1953 to 1967
COMPOSITION: .800 Silver, .075 Copper (the Royal Canadian Mint does not specify the other 12.5%)
WEIGHT: 5.83 grams
DIAMETER: 23.88 mm
DATE: 1967 to 1968
COMPOSITION: .500 Silver, .500 Copper
WEIGHT: 5.05 grams
DIAMETER: 23.88 mm
DATE: 1968 to 1999
COMPOSITION: .999 Nickel
WEIGHT: 5.05 grams
DIAMETER: 23.88 mm
NOTE: In 1978 the thickness of the coin was reduced from 1.6 mm to 1.58 mm
DATE: 2000 to Present
COMPOSITION: .940 Steel, .038 Copper, .022 Nickel plating
WEIGHT: 4.4 grams
DIAMETER: 23.88 mm