Dime (Canadian coin)


In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It has been the physically smallest Canadian coin since 1922; it is smaller even than the country's 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 dîme, meaning "tithe" or "tenth part", from the Latin decima .

Circulation figures

Elizabeth II

YearMintage
1953 No strap17,706,395
1953 Strap17,706,395
19544,493,150
195512,237,294
195616,732,844
195716,110,229
195810,621,236
195919,691,433
196045,446,835
196126,850,859
196241,864,335
196341,916,208
196449,518,549
196556,965,392
196634,567,898
1967 80% silver62,998,215
1967 50% silver62,998,215
1968 50% silver70,460,000
1968 Nickel87,412,930
1968 Nickel85,170,000
196955,833,929
19705,249,296
197141,016,968
197260,169,387
1973167,715,435
1974201,566,565
1975207,680,000
197695,018,533
1977128,452,206
1978170,366,431
1979237,321,321
1980170,111,533
1981123,912,900
198293,475,000
1983111,065,000
1984121,690,000
1985143,025,000
1986168,620,000
1987147,309,000
1988162,998,558
1989199,104,414
199065,023,000
199150,397,000
1992174,476,000
1993135,569,000
1994145,800,000
1995123,875,000
199651,814,000
199743,126,000
1998203,514,000
1999258,462,000
2000159,125,000
2001 P Bluenose266,000,000
2001 P YOTV224,714,000
2002 P252,563,000
2003 P Crowned162,398,000
2003 P Uncrowned162,398,000
2004 P211,924,000
2005 P212,175,000
2006 P312,122,000
2007304,110,000
2008467,495,000
2009370,700,000
2010252,500,000
2011292,325,000
2012334,675,000
2013104,775,000
2014153,450,000
2015112,475,000
2016220,000,000
2017199,925,000
2017 150th ANV20,000,000
2018118,525,000
2019159,775,000
202068,750,000
2021 Bluenose 170,775,000
2021 Dual dated170,775,000
2022103,400,000

Charles III

YearMintage
202343,205,000
202477,275,000
2025

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.