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Dime (Canadian coin)

Canadian coin worth ten cents From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents, equal to 1⁄10 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.

Value0.10 Canadian dollar
Mass1.75 g
Diameter18.03 mm
Thickness1.22 mm
Quick facts Value, Mass ...
Ten cents
Canada
Value0.10 Canadian dollar
Mass1.75 g
Diameter18.03 mm
Thickness1.22 mm
EdgeMilled
CompositionNickel-plated steel
92% steel,
5.5% Cu,
2.5% Ni plating
Years of minting1858–present
Obverse
DesignCharles III, King of Canada
DesignerSteven Rosati
Design date2023
Reverse
DesignBluenose schooner
DesignerEmanuel Hahn; design based on photographs of the Bluenose[1]
Design date1937
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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."[1] The coin is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg.

The word dime comes from the French word dîme, meaning 'tithe' or 'tenth part', from the Latin decima [pars].

History

Composition and size

More information Years, Mass ...
YearsMassDiameterComposition[1]
1858–1919 2.33 g 18.034 mm 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1920–1967 2.33 g 18.034 mm 80% silver, 20% copper
1967–1968[2][3][4] 2.33 g 18.03 mm 50% silver, 50% copper
1968–2000 2.07 g 18.03 mm 99.9% nickel
2001–present[a] 1.75 g 18.03 mm 92.0% steel (AISI 1006 alloy),[6]
5.5% copper, 2.5% nickel plating
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Circulation figures

Victoria & Edward VII

An 1858 dime featuring Queen Victoria
More information Year, Mintage ...
Year Mintage Notes
1858 1,250,000[7]
1870 1,600,000[7] This figure includes the "narrow" and scarcer "wide" 0 varieties.
1871 800,000[7]
1871 H[b] 1,870,000[7]
1872 H[b] 1,000,000[7]
1874 H[b] 600,000[7]
1875 H[b] 1,000,000[7]
1880 H[b] 1,500,000[7]
1881 H[b] 950,000[7]
1882 H[b] 1,000,000[7]
1883 H[b] 300,000[7]
1884 150,000[7]
1885 400,000[7]
1886 800,000[7] This figure includes the "small" and "large" 6 varieties.
1887 350,000[7]
1888 500,000[7]
1889 600,000[7] Most of the reported mintage includes dimes dated 1888. An estimated 10,000 to 20,000 coins dated 1889 are thought to exist.[8]
1890 H[b] 450,000[7]
1891 800,000[7] Coins dated 1891 have either 21 or 22 leaves on their reverse.
1892 520,000[7] The "2" is punched over the "1" variety is scarce.
1893 500,000[7] This figure includes the "flat" and rare "round" top 3 varieties.
1894 500,000[7]
1896 650,000[7]
1898 720,000[7]
1899 1,200,000[7] This figure includes the "small" and "large" 9 varieties.
1900 1,100,000[7]
1901 Victoria 1,200,000[7]
1902 Edward VII 720,000[9]
1902 H[b] 1,100,000[9]
1903 500,000[9]
1903 H[b] 1,320,000[9]
1904 1,000,000[9]
1905 1,000,000[9]
1906 1,700,000[9]
1907 2,620,000[9]
1908 776,666[9]
1909 Victorian leaves 1,697,220[9] 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[9]
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George V & George VI

A 1917 dime featuring King George V
A 1947 dime featuring King George VI
More information Year, Mintage ...
Year Mintage
1911 no "DEI GRA"[c] 2,737,584[11]
1912 with "DEI GRA" 3,235,557[12]
1913 small leaves 3,613,937[12]
1913 large leaves
1914 2,549,811[12]
1915 688,057[12]
1916 4,218,114[12]
1917 5,011,988[12]
1918 5,133,602[12]
1919 7,877,722[12]
1920 6,305,345[13]
1921 2,469,562[13]
1928 2,458,602[13]
1929 3,253,888[13]
1930 1,831,043[13]
1931 2,067,421[13]
1932 1,154,317[13]
1933 672,368[13]
1934 409,067[13]
1935 384,056[13]
1936 George V 2,460,871[13][d]
1937 George VI 2,500,095[14]
1938 4,197,323[14]
1939 5,501,748[14]
1940 16,526,470[14]
1941 8,716,386[14]
1942 10,214,011[14]
1943 21,143,229[14]
1944 9,383,582[14]
1945 10,979,570[14]
1946 6,300,066[14]
1947 4,431,926[14]
1947 ML[e] 9,638,793[14]
1948 422,741[15]
1949 11,336,172[15]
1950 17,823,075[15]
1951[f] 15,079,265[15]
1952 10,474,455[15]
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Elizabeth II

A 1955 dime featuring Queen Elizabeth II
A 1974 dime featuring an older Queen Elizabeth II
More information Year, Mintage ...
Year Mintage
1953 no strap 17,706,395[16]
1953 strap
1954 4,493,150[16]
1955 12,237,294[16]
1956 16,732,844[16]
1957 16,110,229[16]
1958 10,621,236[16]
1959 19,691,433[16]
1960 45,446,835[16]
1961 26,850,859[16]
1962 41,864,335[16]
1963 41,916,208[16]
1964 49,518,549[16]
1965 56,965,392[17]
1966 34,567,898[17]
1967 80% silver[g] 62,998,215[18]
1967 50% silver[g]
1968 50% silver[h] 70,460,000[19]
1968 nickel[h] 87,412,930[20]
1968 nickel[i] 85,170,000[21]
1969[j] 55,833,929[22]
1970 5,249,296[22]
1971 41,016,968[22]
1972 60,169,387[22]
1973 167,715,435[22]
1974 201,566,565[22]
1975 207,680,000[22]
1976 95,018,533[22]
1977 128,452,206[22]
1978 170,366,431[22]
1979 237,321,321[23]
1980 170,111,533[23]
1981 123,912,900[23]
1982 93,475,000[23]
1983 111,065,000[23]
1984 121,690,000[23]
1985 143,025,000[23]
1986 168,620,000[23]
1987 147,309,000[23]
1988 162,998,558[23]
1989 199,104,414[23]
1990 65,023,000[24]
1991 50,397,000[24]
1992 174,476,000[25]
1993 135,569,000[24]
1994 145,800,000[24]
1995 123,875,000[24]
1996 51,814,000[24]
1997 43,126,000[24]
1998 203,514,000[24]
1999[a] 258,462,000[24]
2000[a] 159,125,000[24]
2001 P Bluenose 266,000,000[5]
2001 P Year of the Volunteer[k] 224,714,000[26]
2002 P 252,563,000[27]
2003 P crowned 162,398,000[5]
2003 P uncrowned
2004 P 211,924,000[28]
2005 P 212,175,000[28]
2006 P 312,122,000[28]
2007 304,110,000[28]
2008 467,495,000[28]
2009 370,700,000[28]
2010 252,500,000[29]
2011 292,325,000[29]
2012 334,675,000[29]
2013 104,775,000[29]
2014 153,450,000[29]
2015 112,475,000[29]
2016 220,000,000[29]
2017 199,925,000[30]
2017 150th anniversary of Confederation[l] 20,000,000[30]
2018 118,525,000[29]
2019 159,775,000[29]
2020 68,750,000[29]
2021 Bluenose (old) 170,775,000
2021 dual dated[m]
2022 103,400,000
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Charles III

More information Year, Mintage ...
Year Mintage
2023 43,205,000[31]
2024 77,275,000[31]
2025 TBA
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Commemoratives

More information Date, Mintage ...
Date Mintage Reason
1997
49,848
 500th anniversary of Caboto's first transatlantic voyage
1998
43,269
 90th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mint
2000
69,791
 100th anniversary of the first credit union in Canada
2001
40,634
 International Year of the Volunteer (non-circulating silver proof)
2002
65,315
 Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee; non-circulating silver proof)
2003
21,537
 Elizabeth II (Golden Jubilee)
2004
39,486
 100th anniversary of the Open Golf Championship of Canada
2010
4,996
 75th anniversary of Canada's Voyageur Silver Dollar
2011
6,000
 100th anniversary of George V on Canadian coins
2017
8,017
 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (Centennial mackerel; 2017 version)
2017
20,000
 150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada (our home and native land)
2021
6,000,000
 In 2021, a new Bluenose design was issued on the reverse; these dimes feature coloured blue waves.[32][33]
2021
9,000,000
 Uncoloured version of the new Bluenose design[32][33]
2023
952,000
 Elizabeth II (Platinum Jubilee)
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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.[34]
  • 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

  1. [a]
    Coins dated 1999 and 2000 (P) were made in very low amounts.[5]
  2. [b]
    The "H" on the coin refers to Ralph Heaton & Sons.
  3. [c]
    The word "GRA" (Gratia) was removed from the obverse of the coin to make room for "IND:IMP" (Emperor of India). It was later restored in 1912 after public backlash.[10]
  4. [d]
    The dot below date variety is extremely rare with just 5 specimens in existence.[13]
  5. [e]
    Obverse "IND: IMP:" aka Indiae Imperator (Emperor of India) removed.
  6. [f]
    1951 Canadian dimes have a "doubled die obverse" variety.
  7. [g]
    This dime features an Atlantic mackerel and is dated 1867–1967.[3]
  8. [h]
    Ottawa reeding.
  9. [i]
    Philadelphia reeding.
  10. [j]
    The "large ship, large date" (1968 style) variety is very rare with 10 to 20 coins known. Coins dated 1969 have a redesigned Bluenose (schooner) which is smaller in size.[21]
  11. [k]
    Issued in honor of the United Nations' International Year of the Volunteer.
  12. [l]
    150th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. Features a maple leaf (titled "Wings of Peace") that forms the wings and tail of a dove. The theme of the coin is "Our Character". Dated 1867–2017.
  13. [m]
    These dimes are dated 1921–2021 to honour the centennial of the Bluenose.

References

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