Dime (Canadian coin)

Dime

Canada
Value	0.10 Canadian dollar
Mass	1.75 g
Diameter	18.03 mm
Thickness	1.22 mm
Edge	Milled
Composition	Nickel-plated steel 92% steel, 5.5% Cu, 2.5% Ni plating
Years of minting	1858–present
Catalog number	–
Obverse
Design	Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada
Designer	Susanna Blunt
Design date	2003
Design discontinued	2023
Design	Charles III, King of Canada
Designer	Steven Rosati
Design date	2023
Reverse
Design	Bluenose schooner
Designer	Emanuel Hahn; design based on photographs of the Bluenose[1]
Design date	1937

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 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 1999, it was composed entirely of nickel, and since 2000, 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."^[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].