1935 Canadian Dime
The 1935 Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 384,056 made. Value band: small premium. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1935
- Circulation mintage
- 384,056
- Value band
- Small premium
- Composition
- 80% silver, 20% copper
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 a 1935 Canadian Dime worth?
At 384,056, the 1935 Canadian Dime has a smaller run than most Canadian dimes, so collectors pay a small premium for it, especially in uncirculated condition. Well circulated examples sit close to face value.
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 1935 Canadian Dime rare?
- It is scarcer than most Canadian dimes. Collectors pay a small premium for good examples.
- How many 1935 Canadian dimes were made?
- 384,056 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1935 Canadian Dime made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1935 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 1935 dime in context
No Canadian dime of the twentieth century has a lower mintage than the 1935. The Ottawa mint struck just 384,056, the bottom of the Depression slide that began in 1930. Only the scarcest Victorian dates were struck in smaller numbers. It was also George V's Silver Jubilee year, marking twenty five years on the throne, though the dime kept its ordinary design and only the silver dollar of 1935 marked the event.
Like the 1934, the 1935 dime went into circulation in hard times and very few were saved, so the supply of nice examples is tiny. Collectors rank the two together as the key dates of the later George V dimes and the 1935 is slightly the scarcer. The next year, 1936, brought a big jump to 2,460,871 as the economy began to recover. Seen on the chart of mintages, the 1935 sits at the bottom of a deep valley between the boom of the late 1920s and the busy years of George VI. A dime from 1935 is a small reminder of how hard the Depression bit.
How to recognize it
On the obverse, Mackennal's crowned George V faces left within GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:. The reverse shows 10 CENTS and 1935 inside a crowned wreath of maple leaves. The coin is 80 percent silver at about 2.33 g and 18 mm, with a reeded edge, so roughly 0.06 troy oz of silver. The last digit is the key detail. A worn 5 can resemble a 3, so use a magnifier and good light. The design is identical to every other George V dime from 1912 onward, so nothing else sets it apart. No mint mark appears on it.
1935 Canadian Dime by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1935 Canadian Dime ranks 4th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1887 Canadian Dime (350,000); the next more common is the 1885 Canadian Dime (400,000).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 1217 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 2.6 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1935 output was about the same as 1934 and 6.4 times fewer than 1936.
Over the 1930s the Mint produced 21.2 million dimes across 10 dates and varieties; the 1935 Canadian Dime accounts for 1.8% of that.
What to check on your 1935 Canadian Dime
- Check the date first: silver Canadian dimes carry dates from 1858 to 1968; this one has 0.0599 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.
The 1935 is a key date and carries a collector premium in any condition. Examples with clear detail are particularly desirable and harder to find than worn ones. As with any valuable date, check for tooling around the final digit. Natural toning is preferred to cleaned surfaces. A grading service is a good idea for anything above well worn. Keep it in a soft holder and handle it by the edges. Collectors often try to match it with a 1934 in similar condition, which can take a long time.
George V 80% silver dimes (1920 to 1936)
Silver prices rose sharply during and after the First World War and in 1920 Canada lowered the fineness of its silver coins from 92.5 to 80 percent. The dime kept its size and weight of about 2.33 g, so the only change was less silver: roughly 0.06 troy oz per coin. Then the demand for change collapsed in the slump that followed the war. After 1921 no dimes were struck at all until 1928, a gap of six years.
The design did not change. Mackennal's crowned bust of George V faces left with GEORGIVS V DEI GRA: REX ET IND: IMP:, while the reverse has 10 CENTS and the date inside a crowned wreath of maple leaves. Production restarted in 1928 at a little under 2.5 million and then fell away as the Depression took hold, to 672,368 in 1933, 409,067 in 1934 and just 384,056 in 1935, the lowest dime mintage of the twentieth century. George V died in January 1936 but 1936 dimes still carry his portrait.
For collectors the period is about the Depression dates. The 1934 and 1935 are the ones to look for and are hard to find in better grades, with 1933 not far behind. Wear shows first on the crown and the king's ear, then on the leaf veins. A small raised dot below the wreath on a 1936 dime marks one of the rarest Canadian coins, struck in 1937 while new dies were prepared, though only a handful are known.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1935 |
| Circulation mintage | 384,056 |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1935 the rarest Canadian dime of the 1900s?
By published mintage, yes. Only 384,056 were struck, the lowest figure of any twentieth century dime. The 1934, at 409,067 and the 1948, at 422,741, come next. All three are key dates.
Did the 1935 dime mark the king's Silver Jubilee?
No. Although 1935 was George V's Silver Jubilee year, the dime kept its regular design. Canada's commemorative coin for the Jubilee was the silver dollar of 1935. That coin is famous in its own right.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.