1968 Nickel Canadian Dime
The 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 87.4 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
- 87,412,930
- 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 Canadian Dime worth?
With 87.4 million made, the 1968 Nickel 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 Canadian Dime rare?
- No. 87.4 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 1968 Nickel Canadian dimes were made?
- 87,412,930 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime made of?
- Nickel (99.9%). It weighs 2.07 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender.
The 1968 dime in context
Later in 1968 the dime became a pure nickel coin, ending more than a century of silver. Nickel was hard wearing, white in color and mined in large quantities in Canada, so it was a natural replacement. The new coin weighed 2.07 g, lighter than the 2.33 g silver dime, but kept the same 18 mm size. The Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa struck 87,412,930 of the nickel dimes.
Demand was enormous. Silver dimes were disappearing from circulation as people kept them for their metal and the mint could not keep up on its own. The United States Mint in Philadelphia helped by striking another 85,170,000 Canadian nickel dimes in 1968, a rare case of Canadian dimes being struck outside the country after 1908. Between the two mints and the earlier silver coins, more than 240 million dimes are dated 1968, by far the largest total up to that time. The Ottawa nickel coin is the start of a nickel era that would last into the 2000s and it set the pattern for everyday change for decades.
How to recognize it
Machin's queen, wearing a tiara and facing right, sits inside ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse shows Hahn's schooner with CANADA, 10 CENTS and 1968, in the larger ship design used before the 1969 redesign. The coin is pure nickel, 2.07 g and 18 mm with a reeded edge and it is attracted to a magnet. It looks almost identical to the silver 1968 dime, so the magnet is the quickest way to tell them apart. To separate the Ottawa coin from the Philadelphia one, you need to look at the edge reeding with a magnifier, since the grooves differ in shape.
1968 Nickel Canadian Dime by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime ranks 110th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1968 Nickel (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime (85.2 million); the next more common is the 1982 Canadian Dime (93.5 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 5.3 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 583 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1968 output was 1.4 times the 1967 figure and 1.6 times the 1969 figure. Other 1968 dimes: 1968 50% Silver Canadian Dime (70.5 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 Nickel Canadian Dime accounts for 13% of that.
What to check on your 1968 Nickel Canadian Dime
- Try a magnet. Nickel (99.9%) is magnetic, so a genuine 1968 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- 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 Ottawa nickel dime is a face value coin in circulated condition. Uncirculated examples from mint sets are easy to find and carry only a small premium. Its interest is historical as the first nickel dime. Collectors who like varieties also try to find the Philadelphia version and compare the edges. If you are sorting a jar of 1968 dimes, check each one with a magnet for silver first. Bright uncirculated coins with full rigging are the most attractive.
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 | 87,412,930 |
| 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 (Philadelphia) Canadian Dime | 85,170,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why do some 1968 dimes stick to a magnet?
Because it is pure nickel, which is magnetic. Later in 1968 the mint switched dimes from 50 percent silver to nickel. A 1968 dime that does not stick is one of the earlier silver coins.
How many nickel dimes were struck in 1968?
The Ottawa mint struck 87,412,930 and the United States Mint in Philadelphia struck another 85,170,000. Together with the silver coins, 1968 was a record year for the dime. About 243 million in all.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.