1870 Canadian Dime
The 1870 Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 1.6 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1870
- Circulation mintage
- 1,600,000
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1870 Canadian Dime worth?
The 1870 Canadian Dime is a silver coin with 0.0693 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0693 times the day's silver spot price. With 1.6 million made, worn examples trade for about their silver; collectors pay more for sharp, original coins and much more for uncirculated ones with full luster.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1870 Canadian Dime rare?
- Not by mintage. 1.6 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1870 Canadian dimes were made?
- 1,600,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1870 Canadian Dime made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver). It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1870 Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender, but a silver one is worth more for its metal than its face value.
The 1870 dime in context
Confederation in 1867 left the new Dominion of Canada with a money problem. Its towns and shops were full of American silver coins, which had flowed north during the American Civil War and were accepted only at a discount. The government arranged to ship much of that silver out of the country and ordered Canadian silver coins to replace it. The 1870 dime was part of that first Dominion order, struck at the Royal Mint in London, with a published mintage of 1,600,000.
It was the first Canadian dime in twelve years and the first struck for the country as a whole rather than for the old Province of Canada. The figure was generous for the time and many of these coins stayed in use for decades. The source notes that the total includes two varieties of the date: a narrow 0 and a scarcer wide 0, where the last digit is set noticeably wider. Both versions were struck by the same London mint and look identical apart from that digit.
How to recognize it
The obverse introduced a new portrait of Victoria, now wearing a diadem, with VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA around her. The reverse kept the 1858 layout: 10 CENTS and the date inside a crowned wreath of maple leaves tied with a ribbon at the base. The coin is sterling silver, about 2.33 g and 18 mm, with a reeded edge, so it holds a little under 0.07 troy oz of pure silver. There is no mint mark, since the Heaton coins with their H started only in 1871. To check the variety, compare the shape and spacing of the 0 in 1870 with a reference picture of each type.
1870 Canadian Dime by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1870 Canadian Dime ranks 39th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1880 H Canadian Dime (1.5 million); the next more common is the 1909 Victorian Leaves Canadian Dime (1.7 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 292 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 11 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1870 output was 1.3 times the 1858 figure and 2 times the 1871 figure.
Over the 1870s the Mint produced 6.87 million dimes across 6 dates and varieties; the 1870 Canadian Dime accounts for 23% of that.
What to check on your 1870 Canadian Dime
- Check the date first: silver Canadian dimes carry dates from 1858 to 1968; this one has 0.0693 troy oz. Silver coins are not magnetic and ring clearly when dropped on a hard surface.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot at once and that cut the value of silver dates sharply.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older dimes.
As the first Dominion dime, 1870 is a popular date and every example carries a collector premium. Most are worn and the ones with full hair detail and sharp leaves are scarce. If yours has a clear date, take a magnifier to the final 0. The wide 0 variety is the scarcer of the two and collectors who specialize in Victorian varieties seek it out. Avoid cleaned coins where you can, since they look unnaturally bright. Specialists also pay attention to strike, since some coins show weak spots in the wreath.
Queen Victoria silver dimes (1858 to 1901)
Canada's ten cent piece began in 1858, when the Province of Canada, today's Ontario and Quebec, switched its accounts to dollars and cents and ordered its first decimal coins from the Royal Mint in London. That single 1858 issue had to last until after Confederation. Through the 1860s Canadians paid with American silver that circulated at a discount, so the new Dominion exported much of it and ordered silver of its own, starting with 1870. Canada still had no mint. London struck most years and the private Heaton mint in Birmingham filled several orders, adding a small H. Orders followed demand, so there are no dimes dated 1873, 1876 to 1879, 1895 or 1897.
Every coin of the reign is sterling silver, about 2.33 g and 18 mm with a reeded edge, holding a little under 0.07 troy oz of pure silver. The 1858 shows a young Victoria with a laurel wreath in her hair, while from 1870 she wears a diadem; both read VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA. The reverse has 10 CENTS and the date inside a wreath of maple leaves with a crown on top. Mintages ran from 150,000 in 1884 to 1,870,000 for 1871-H. The source also lists small die varieties in 1870, 1886, 1891, 1892, 1893 and 1899.
The famous key is 1889, where only an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 of the reported 600,000 are thought to carry that date. The 1884, 1883-H, 1887, 1885 and 1890-H are also hard to find in decent condition. Read the date with a magnifier and look for the H, because 1871 exists both with and without it. Most survivors are heavily worn, often holed or bent, so any detail left in the hair and leaves lifts a coin above the crowd. Be wary of altered dates on the key years.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1870 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,600,000 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver) |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
What is the wide 0 on an 1870 dime?
It is a variety where the 0 of the date is broader and more rounded than on the normal narrow 0 coins. The source notes that the wide 0 is the scarcer of the two. A magnifier and a reference picture make the difference clear.
Was the 1870 dime struck in Canada?
No. Canada had no mint until 1908, so the 1870 dimes were struck at the Royal Mint in London and shipped across the Atlantic. That is why there is no mint mark on the coin.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.