1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime
The 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 17.7 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1953
- Circulation mintage
- 17,706,395
- Value band
- Metal value
- 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 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime worth?
The 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime is a silver coin with 0.0599 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0599 times the day's silver spot price. With 17.7 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 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime rare?
- Not by mintage. 17.7 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian dimes were made?
- 17,706,395 were struck for circulation (a combined figure for the Shoulder Fold and No Shoulder Fold varieties).
- What is the 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime made of?
- 80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1953 Shoulder Fold 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 1953 dime in context
Partway through 1953 the Royal Canadian Mint revised Mary Gillick's portrait of the new queen. The first dies had been cut in such high relief that the details struck up poorly, so the relief was lowered and the portrait strengthened. One of the clearest signs of the change is a fold or strap line on the queen's dress at the shoulder, which gives this variety its name. The revised design became the standard for the rest of the Gillick portrait's use.
The 17,706,395 dimes dated 1953 include both versions and no separate figures are published. The shoulder fold coins are the ones that carry the portrait forward into 1954 and beyond, so for many collectors this is simply the regular Gillick dime of 1953. It is a common silver coin, but it completes a pair with the no shoulder fold version and tells a neat story about how the mint learned to work with a new portrait. Gillick's design remained on Canadian dimes until 1964. Through those years the dime stayed 80 percent silver, so every one of them is worth keeping out of your pocket change.
How to recognize it
Gillick's laureate portrait of Elizabeth II faces right with ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA. On this variety a fold or strap line crosses the queen's dress at the shoulder and the portrait looks a little crisper than the early version. The reverse is Hahn's schooner with CANADA, 10 CENTS and 1953. In 80 percent silver it weighs about 2.33 g at 18 mm, with roughly 0.06 troy oz of pure metal. Wear on the shoulder can hide the fold, so a well preserved coin is much easier to attribute than a worn one. Ottawa made it, so there is no mint mark to find.
1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime by the numbers
The published 17,706,395 for 1953 covers both the Shoulder Fold and No Shoulder Fold varieties together, so neither can be ranked on its own. As a date, 1953 sits 83rd lowest among Canadian dime dates by output.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1953 output was 1.7 times the 1952 figure and 3.9 times the 1954 figure. Other 1953 dimes: 1953 No Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime.
Over the 1950s the Mint produced 141 million dimes across 10 dates and varieties; the 1953 Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime accounts for 13% of that.
What to check on your 1953 Shoulder Fold 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.
- Confirm the variety: shoulder fold. Use a magnifier and compare with a reference picture before you assume you have the scarcer one.
- 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 1953 shoulder fold is a common date, valued mainly for its silver when circulated and carrying a collector premium in uncirculated condition. Look for a clear fold line and good detail in the hair and laurel. Keep it alongside a no shoulder fold coin to show both versions of the first year. As with all silver dimes, natural toning is preferable to a coin that has been polished bright. Uncirculated coins from the first year of the reign remain popular as souvenirs of the coronation year, which keeps demand steady.
Elizabeth II laureate silver dimes (1953 to 1964)
Elizabeth II became queen in February 1952 and her first Canadian dimes are dated 1953. Mary Gillick's portrait shows the young queen with a laurel wreath in her hair and no crown, facing right, with ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA around it. The relief of the first dies was too high and the shoulder struck up poorly, so during 1953 the relief was lowered and the detail strengthened. The revised version shows a fold or strap line across the queen's shoulder, which gives the 1953 dime its two varieties: no shoulder fold and shoulder fold.
Hahn's Bluenose stayed on the reverse. The dime was still 80 percent silver at about 2.33 g and 18 mm, about 0.06 troy oz of silver. Apart from a dip to 4,493,150 in 1954, mintages grew steadily through the 1950s and then exploded in the early 1960s, reaching 49,518,549 in 1964. Canada's population and economy were booming and toward the end of the period rising silver prices encouraged people to put silver coins aside.
These are the most common Canadian silver dimes and turn up regularly in old coin jars. The 1954 is the lowest mintage of the run and is the date most collectors try to find in uncirculated condition. On 1953 dimes check the shoulder for the fold line. Gillick's portrait wears quickly at the hair and the laurel leaves, so look there first. Almost every date trades at its silver value when worn.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1953 |
| Circulation mintage | 17,706,395 (with the No Shoulder Fold variety) |
| Composition | 80% silver, 20% copper |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 1953 Canadian dimes
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 No Shoulder Fold Canadian Dime | 17,706,395 | Metal value |
Frequently asked questions
Why was the 1953 portrait changed?
The original Gillick portrait was in high relief and did not strike up clearly. The mint revised the dies during 1953 to give stronger detail and the fold on the shoulder is the easiest sign of the change.
Are 1953 shoulder fold dimes valuable?
Not especially. Both 1953 varieties are common and worn coins are valued mainly for their silver. Uncirculated examples with sharp detail carry a collector premium. Both types are found in old silver.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.