Dime (Canadian coin)

Dime
Canada
Value 0.10 CAD
Mass  1.75 g
Diameter  18.03 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 date 1937

In Canada a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It is the smallest (in physical size) of the currently issued Canadian coins. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the 10 cent piece, but in practice the term dime is universal. 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 1968-99 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 word "dime" comes from the French word "dîme", meaning "tithe" or "tenth part," from the Latin decima [pars].

Contents

History of composition

Years Mass Diameter/Shape Composition[1]
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.

Other notable dates

First strikes

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

References

External links