1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime
The 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 85.2 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1968
- Circulation mintage
- 85,170,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Nickel (99.9%)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is a 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime worth?
With 85.2 million made, the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Only uncirculated coins with full luster, recognized varieties and genuine errors interest collectors.
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 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime rare?
- No. 85.2 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian dimes were made?
- 85,170,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 2.07 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender.
The 1968 dime in context
The 1968 Philadelphia dime is a Canadian coin made in the United States. When Canada switched its dimes from silver to nickel in 1968, the Royal Canadian Mint could not strike enough on its own, as silver coins were disappearing from circulation faster than they could be replaced. The United States Mint in Philadelphia stepped in and struck 85,170,000 Canadian nickel dimes, almost as many as the 87,412,930 made in Ottawa.
It is one of the more unusual chapters in the dime's history. Since the Ottawa mint opened in 1908, Canada had struck its own dimes at home and 1968 is a rare exception. The Philadelphia coins were made to the same design and specification and carry no mint mark, so they mixed into circulation alongside the Ottawa coins without anyone noticing. Collectors only later started to separate them by small differences in the edge. Because the two were struck in similar numbers, neither is scarce, but the Philadelphia coin has a story that makes it a favorite of variety collectors. It is an easy, inexpensive coin to hunt for.
How to recognize it
The design is identical to the Ottawa coin. Machin's portrait of the queen wearing a tiara faces right with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA and the reverse shows Hahn's schooner with CANADA, 10 CENTS and 1968. It is pure nickel, weighing 2.07 g at 18 mm and is attracted to a magnet. There is no mint mark, so the difference lies in the edge reeding: the grooves between the reeds are shaped differently on coins from the two mints. Standard references show both edges in close up and comparing your coin with a known Ottawa example under a magnifier is the surest method.
1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime ranks 109th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2024 Canadian Dime (77.3 million); the next more common is the 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime (87.4 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 5.5 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 568 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1968 output was 1.4 times the 1967 figure and 1.5 times the 1969 figure. Other 1968 dimes: 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime (70.5 million) and 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime (87.4 million).
Over the 1960s the Mint produced 659 million dimes across 12 dates and varieties; the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime accounts for 13% of that.
What to check on your 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1968 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Confirm the variety: struck at Philadelphia. 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 and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Look for full luster and no scratches. Modern dimes only interest collectors in uncirculated condition or with a recognized variety.
The 1968 Philadelphia dime is a face value coin in circulated condition, with a small premium for uncirculated examples. Its appeal is the story and the challenge of attribution. Use a strong magnifier on the edge and compare with photographs of both types. Pairing an Ottawa and a Philadelphia 1968 dime is a neat way to show the year Canada needed help from its neighbor. Specialist references show the edge differences in close up, which makes the hunt much easier.
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 | 85,170,000 |
| Composition | Nickel (99.9%) |
| Weight | 2.07 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 1968 Canadian dimes
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime | 70,460,000 | Metal value |
| 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime | 87,412,930 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why were Canadian dimes struck in Philadelphia in 1968?
The Royal Canadian Mint could not keep up with demand as silver dimes vanished from circulation. The United States Mint in Philadelphia struck 85,170,000 nickel dimes to help fill the gap.
Does the 1968 Philadelphia dime have a P mint mark?
No. It carries no mint mark at all. Ottawa and Philadelphia coins are told apart by the shape of the grooves in the reeded edge, which needs a magnifier and a good reference photograph.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.