1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime
The 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 70.5 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1968
- Circulation mintage
- 70,460,000
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- 50% silver, 50% 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 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime worth?
The 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime is a silver coin with 0.0375 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0375 times the day's silver spot price. With 70.5 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:
- Full uncirculated luster
- A recognized variety or genuine error
- Coins from a specimen or proof set
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime rare?
- Not by mintage. 70.5 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1968 50% Silver Canadian dimes were made?
- 70,460,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime made of?
- 50% silver, 50% copper. It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1968 50% Silver 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 1968 dime in context
In 1968 the schooner returned to the dime after the centennial year and the coin began the year in 50 percent silver. The Royal Canadian Mint struck 70,460,000 of these silver dimes before switching to pure nickel later in 1968. They are the last silver dimes Canada made for circulation. The weight stayed at 2.33 g, the same as the older silver coins, even though the silver content had fallen.
Silver had become simply too expensive for everyday coins and the move to nickel was decided for all the silver denominations. But the change could not happen overnight and the mint kept striking silver dimes until enough nickel coins could be produced. As a result, 1968 has two dimes with identical designs in different metals. The 50 percent silver coin is the end of a line that began with the sterling dime of 1858, more than a century of silver ten cent pieces. Most were hoarded or melted in the years that followed, as people quickly learned to keep any dime that would not stick to a magnet.
How to recognize it
The queen wears a tiara in Machin's right facing portrait, framed by ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse shows Hahn's schooner with CANADA, 10 CENTS and 1968, the larger ship design used before the 1969 redesign. This version is 50 percent silver at about 2.33 g and 18 mm with a reeded edge, holding a little under 0.04 troy oz of silver. The easiest way to separate it from the nickel 1968 dime is a magnet: the silver coin is not attracted, while the nickel one is. The silver coin is also slightly heavier, at 2.33 g against 2.07 g. There is no mint letter on either side.
1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime ranks 107th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2020 Canadian Dime (68.8 million); the next more common is the 2024 Canadian Dime (77.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 6.6 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 470 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1968 output was 1.1 times the 1967 figure and 1.3 times the 1969 figure. Other 1968 dimes: 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime (87.4 million) and 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime (85.2 million).
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 659 million dimes across 12 dates and varieties; the 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime accounts for 11% of that.
What to check on your 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime
- Check the date first: silver Canadian dimes carry dates from 1858 to 1968; this one has 0.0375 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 for full luster and no scratches. Modern dimes only interest collectors in uncirculated condition or with a recognized variety.
The 1968 50 percent silver dime is common and valued mainly for its silver content. A bright uncirculated coin carries a small premium. It is a good coin to keep alongside a 1968 nickel dime, since the two show the end of silver in a single year. Use a magnet to sort your 1968 dimes: any that do not stick are the silver ones and worth setting aside. Keep the silver coins separate and record the date of each, since they are easy to mix with the nickel ones again.
Centennial and the end of silver (1965 to 1968)
These four years changed the dime more than any period since 1858. In 1965 Arnold Machin's new portrait of Elizabeth II wearing a tiara replaced Gillick's, with the shorter legend ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. In 1967 Canada marked a hundred years since Confederation with special reverses by the painter Alex Colville and the dime showed a mackerel in place of the Bluenose. The centennial coins carry the dates 1867 and 1967. The schooner came back in 1968.
Meanwhile the price of silver kept rising and a silver dime was close to being worth more as metal than as money. Partway through 1967 the mint cut the silver content from 80 to 50 percent without changing the weight of 2.33 g. Early 1968 dimes were also 50 percent silver, but later that year the dime became pure nickel, lighter at 2.07 g. Demand was so heavy that the United States Mint in Philadelphia struck 85,170,000 of the 1968 nickel dimes, alongside 87,412,930 from Ottawa.
So 1967 and 1968 each come in two metals that look identical. The magnet is your friend: a pure nickel dime is attracted to a magnet while silver ones are not. Telling 80 percent from 50 percent silver, or Ottawa from Philadelphia nickel, takes closer work with weight, specific gravity or the edge reeding. Silver dimes from these years were pulled from circulation in huge numbers for their metal.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1968 |
| Circulation mintage | 70,460,000 |
| Composition | 50% silver, 50% copper |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 1968 Canadian dimes
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime | 87,412,930 | Face value |
| 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime | 85,170,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
How can you tell if a 1968 dime is silver?
Use a magnet. The 50 percent silver 1968 dime is not attracted to a magnet, while the pure nickel version is. The silver coin also weighs about 2.33 g against 2.07 g for nickel.
Was 1968 the last year of Canadian silver dimes?
Yes, for circulation. The 50 percent silver 1968 dimes were the last silver dimes struck for everyday use. Later in 1968 the mint switched to pure nickel. Nickel replaced silver for good.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.