Dime (Canadian coin)

Dime
Canada
Value 0.10 CAD
Mass 1.75 g
Diameter 18.03mm (Though some have been measured to be 17mm) mm
Thickness 1.22 mm
Edge Milled
Composition 92% steel,
5.5% Cu,
2.5% Ni plating
Years of minting 1858–present
Catalog number -
Obverse
Design Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer Susanna Blunt
Design date 2003
Reverse
Design Bluenose schooner
Designer Emmanuel Hahn; design actually based on a Wallace MacAskill photograph of Bluenose, not artwork of Hahn[1]
Design date 1937

In Canada, a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It has been the smallest Canadian coin since 1922, even smaller than a penny. 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, but unlike its counterpart, the Canadian dime is magnetic due to a distinct metal composition: from 1968 to 1999 it was composed entirely of nickel, and since 2000 it has had a high steel content.

Currently the dime has, as with all Canadian coins, a portrait of Her Majesty the Queen on the obverse. The reverse contains a representation of the Bluenose, a famous Canadian schooner. The artist, Emmanuel Hahn, used three ships including the Bluenose as his models, so the ship design is actually a composite. 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 of composition

Years Mass Diameter/Shape Composition[2]
2000–present 1.75 g 18.03 mm 92.0% steel (unspecified alloy), 5.5% copper, 2.5% nickel plating
1979–1999 2.075 g 18.03 mm 99.9% nickel
1969–1978 2.07 g 18.03 mm 99.9% nickel
1968 2.07 g

2.33 g

 18.03 mm

18.034 mm

 99.9% nickel (172.5M)

50% silver, 50% copper (70.4M)

1967 2.33 g 18.034 mm 50% silver, 50% copper (30.6M)

80% silver, 20% copper (32.3M)

1920–1966 2.33 g 18.034 mm 80% silver, 20% copper
1910–1919 2.33 g 18.034 mm 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper
1858–1910 2.32 g 18.034 mm 92.5% silver, 7.5% copper

Commemorative editions

Year Theme Artist Mintage Special notes
1967 Canadian Centennial Alex Colville 62,998,215 Features a mackerel.
2001 International Year of the Volunteer Stan Witten 272,465,000 Issued in honour of the United Nations' International Year of the Volunteer.
2017 Canada 150 Amy Choi Commemorating the 150th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada. Features a maple leaf (titled "Wings of Change") that forms the wings and tail of a dove. The theme of the coin is "Our Character".

Other notable dates

An 1858 dime featuring Queen Victoria
A 1917 dime featuring King George V
A 1947 Dime feature King George VI

First strikes

Year Theme Mintage Issue Price
2005 Bluenose 1,861 $14.95
2006 With new mint mark 5,000 $29.95

References

  1. ↑ http://www.macaskill.com/Wallace/wallace.html
  2. ↑ Royal Canadian Mint - Monnaie Royale Canadienne
  3. ↑
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