1938 Canadian Dime

Quick answers

Is the 1938 Canadian Dime rare?

Not by mintage. 4.2 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.

How many 1938 Canadian dimes were made?

4,197,323 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1938 Canadian Dime made of?

80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.

Is the 1938 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.

How to recognize it

The 1938 Canadian Dime is round, 18.03 mm across and 80% silver, 20% copper.

1938 Canadian Dime by the numbers

Measured by how many were made, the 1938 Canadian Dime ranks 57th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1913 Large Leaves Canadian Dime (3.61 million); the next more common is the 1916 Canadian Dime (4.22 million).

For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 111 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 28 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1938 output was 1.7 times the 1937 figure and 1.3 times fewer than 1939.

Over the 1930s the Mint produced 21.2 million dimes across 10 dates and varieties; the 1938 Canadian Dime accounts for 20% of that.

What to check on your 1938 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.

George VI Bluenose dimes (1937 to 1952)

George VI came to the throne in December 1936 and his coins, dated 1937, brought the biggest design change in Canadian coinage since 1858. The crowns and wreaths gave way to Canadian subjects and the dime got a fishing schooner under full sail by the sculptor Emanuel Hahn. It has long been accepted as the Bluenose, the Lunenburg racing schooner launched in 1921 and his initial H appears on the reverse. The obverse shows Thomas Humphrey Paget's bare-headed portrait of the king facing left.

The coin is still 80 percent silver at about 2.33 g and 18 mm, about 0.06 troy oz of pure silver. Mintages rose quickly as the economy recovered and then during the Second World War, peaking at 21,143,229 in 1943. India became independent in 1947, which meant the king was no longer Emperor of India and the ET IND:IMP: in the legend had to go. New dies were not ready in time, so early in 1948 the mint struck coins dated 1947 with a tiny maple leaf added after the date. The corrected 1948 dime, reading GEORGIVS VI DEI GRATIA REX, had a mintage of only 422,741.

The 1948 is the key of the reign and the 1947 maple leaf is a popular variety, though it actually outnumbers the plain 1947. Other dates are common silver coins. Check the sails and the waves for wear: the fine rigging lines vanish first. Any George VI dime has silver value, so do not spend one by accident.

Mintage chart

Specifications