In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents, equal to of a Canadian dollar. It has been the physically smallest Canadian coin since 1922; it is smaller even than the penny, despite its higher face value. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the 10-cent piece, but in practice, the term dime predominates in English-speaking Canada. It is nearly identical in size to the American dime. Unlike its American counterpart, the Canadian dime is magnetic due to a distinct metal composition. From 1968 to 2000, it was composed entirely of nickel, and since 2001, it has consisted of a steel core with plating composed of layers of nickel and copper.

The most prevalent version of the coin features a portrait of Elizabeth II on the obverse, although a new version featuring Charles III was introduced in 2023. The reverse contains a representation of the Bluenose, a famous Canadian schooner. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, "Artist Emanuel Hahn developed his design for the 10-cent coin from photos of the famous Bluenose schooner." The coin is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg.

The word dime comes from the French word , meaning 'tithe' or 'tenth part', from the Latin .

History

Composition and size Years Mass Diameter Composition1858–19192.33 g18.034 mm92.5% silver, 7.5% copper1920–19672.33 g18.034 mm80% silver, 20% copper1967–19682.33 g18.03 mm50% silver, 50% copper1968–20002.07 g18.03 mm99.9% nickel2001–present1.75 g18.03 mm92.0% steel (AISI 1006 alloy), 5.5% copper, 2.5% nickel plating

Circulation figures Victoria & Edward VII

Year Mintage Notes 1858 1,250,000 1870 1,600,000 This figure includes the "narrow" and scarcer "wide" 0 varieties. 1871 800,000 1871 H 1,870,000 1872 H 1,000,000 1874 H 600,000 1875 H 1,000,000 1880 H 1,500,000 1881 H 950,000 1882 H 1,000,000 1883 H 300,000 1884 150,000 1885 400,000 1886 800,000 This figure includes the "small" and "large" 6 varieties. 1887 350,000 1888 500,000 1889 600,000 Most of the reported mintage includes dimes dated 1888. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 coins dated 1889 are thought to exist. 1890 H 450,000 1891 800,000 Coins dated 1891 have either 21 or 22 leaves on their reverse. 1892 520,000 The "2" is punched over the "1" variety is scarce. 1893 500,000 This figure includes the "flat" and rare "round" top 3 varieties. 1894 500,000 1896 650,000 1898 720,000 1899 1,200,000 This figure includes the "small" and "large" 9 varieties. 1900 1,100,000 1901 Victoria 1,200,000 1902 Edward VII 720,000 1902 H 1,100,000 1903 500,000 1903 H 1,320,000 1904 1,000,000 1905 1,000,000 1906 1,700,000 1907 2,620,000 1908 776,666 1909 Victorian leaves 1,697,220 Leaves are similar to the 1902 to 1908 reverse. 1909 Edwardian leaves Leaves are similar to the 1910 to 1912 reverse. 1910 4,468,331

George V & George VI

Year Mintage 1911 no "DEI GRA" 2,737,584 1912 with "DEI GRA" 3,235,557 1913 small leaves 3,613,937 1913 large leaves 1914 2,549,811 1915 688,057 1916 4,218,114 1917 5,011,988 1918 5,133,602 1919 7,877,722 1920 6,305,345 1921 2,469,562 1928 2,458,602 1929 3,253,888 1930 1,831,043 1931 2,067,421 1932 1,154,317 1933 672,368 1934 409,067 1935 384,056 1936 George V 2,460,871 1937 George VI 2,500,095 1938 4,197,323 1939 5,501,748 1940 16,526,470 1941 8,716,386 1942 10,214,011 1943 21,143,229 1944 9,383,582 1945 10,979,570 1946 6,300,066 1947 4,431,926 1947 ML 9,638,793 1948 422,741 1949 11,336,172 1950 17,823,075 1951 15,079,265 1952 10,474,455

Elizabeth II

Year Mintage 1953 no strap 17,706,395 1953 strap 1954 4,493,150 1955 12,237,294 1956 16,732,844 1957 16,110,229 1958 10,621,236 1959 19,691,433 1960 45,446,835 1961 26,850,859 1962 41,864,335 1963 41,916,208 1964 49,518,549 1965 56,965,392 1966 34,567,898 1967 80% silver 62,998,215 1967 50% silver 1968 50% silver 70,460,000 1968 nickel 87,412,930 1968 nickel 85,170,000 1969 55,833,929 1970 5,249,296 1971 41,016,968 1972 60,169,387 1973 167,715,435 1974 201,566,565 1975 207,680,000 1976 95,018,533 1977 128,452,206 1978 170,366,431 1979 237,321,321 1980 170,111,533 1981 123,912,900 1982 93,475,000 1983 111,065,000 1984 121,690,000 1985 143,025,000 1986 168,620,000 1987 147,309,000 1988 162,998,558 1989 199,104,414 1990 65,023,000 1991 50,397,000 1992 174,476,000 1993 135,569,000 1994 145,800,000 1995 123,875,000 1996 51,814,000 1997 43,126,000 1998 203,514,000 1999 258,462,000 2000 159,125,000 2001 P Bluenose 266,000,000 2001 P Year of the Volunteer 224,714,000 2002 P 252,563,000 2003 P crowned 162,398,000 2003 P uncrowned 2004 P 211,924,000 2005 P 212,175,000 2006 P 312,122,000 2007 304,110,000 2008 467,495,000 2009 370,700,000 2010 252,500,000 2011 292,325,000 2012 334,675,000 2013 104,775,000 2014 153,450,000 2015 112,475,000 2016 220,000,000 2017 199,925,000 2017 150th anniversary of Confederation 20,000,000 2018 118,525,000 2019 159,775,000 2020 68,750,000 2021 Bluenose (old) 170,775,000 2021 dual dated 2022 103,400,000

Charles III

Year Mintage 2023 43,205,000 2024 77,275,000 2025

Commemoratives

Date Mintage Reason 500th anniversary of Caboto's first transatlantic voyage 90th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mint 100th anniversary of the first credit union in Canada International Year of the Volunteer (non-circulating silver proof) Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee; non-circulating silver proof) Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee) 100th anniversary of the Open Golf Championship of Canada 75th anniversary of Canada's Voyageur Silver Dollar 100th anniversary of George V on Canadian coins 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (Centennial mackerel; 2017 version) 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (our home and native land) In 2021, a new Bluenose design was issued on the reverse; these dimes feature coloured blue waves. Uncoloured version of the new Bluenose design Elizabeth II (Platinum Jubilee)

Collecting 1936 dot: Extremely rare with only 5 known. There are 3 in private collections, one graded Specimen-63 and 2 examples graded SP-68. The other 2 are in the Ottawa currency museum. The most recent of these to sell at auction was one of the SP68 coins, which brought US$184,000 in a Heritage Auction in January 2010. 1969 large date: Fewer than 20 examples of the large date variety exist. High-grade versions of this coin sell for $15,000 to $30,000. There is only one graded in mint state as of 2012. 1999p: The first Canadian 10-cent coin issued with the new plating "P" process. Plated coins are marked with a small "P" beneath the Queen's effigy on the obverse of the coin. Mintage is limited to 20,000 coins. 2000p: The 2000p Canada dime is scarce with fewer than 250 examples minted. The 2000p dime was lent to the vending industry by the Royal Canadian Mint to test the compatibility of the new plating process of circulation coins with existing vending machines and parking meters. Under contractual obligation, these coins were to be returned to the mint once the compatibility tests were complete. Of the approximately 250 coins minted, many were not returned to the mint, leading to significant debate surrounding the legality of owning these coins. High-grade examples of the 2000p 10-cent issue range from $1,500 to $3,000 CDN. Unlike the 5-cent 2000p issues, the 10-cent coin was not officially released by the mint, and entered the numismatic market illegally.

Notes

References

External links Value of Canadian Nickel