2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime
The 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 224.7 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2001
- Circulation mintage
- 224,714,000
- Value band
- Face value
- Composition
- Nickel-plated steel
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 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime worth?
With 224.7 million made, the 2001 P Year of the Volunteer 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 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime rare?
- No. 224.7 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian dimes were made?
- 224,714,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 1.75 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender.
The 2001 dime in context
The United Nations named 2001 the International Year of Volunteers and Canada marked it with a special dime. For the first time since the 1967 mackerel, the Bluenose was replaced on a circulating dime by a commemorative design. The Royal Canadian Mint struck 224,714,000 of these coins, a huge number for a commemorative, so they went into everyday circulation alongside the regular schooner dimes.
The coin honored the many Canadians who give their time to charities, community groups and causes. It was part of the mint's growing interest in circulating commemoratives, which by then included special quarters, loonies and toonies. Because so many were made, the Volunteer dime is common and still turns up in change. For collectors it is a pleasant reminder that even the smallest coin can carry a message. It is also the first commemorative dime struck in plated steel, carrying the P that marked the new metal. Most people who find one simply notice that the ship is missing and set it aside. Its design is a rare change of scene on the reverse.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Dora de Pédery-Hunt's crowned portrait of the queen facing right, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA and the P for plated below. The reverse replaces the schooner with Stan Witten's design celebrating volunteers, while the date and value move to the obverse. The coin is multi-ply plated steel, 1.75 g and 18 mm with a reeded edge and a magnet will pick it up. The simplest check is to look at the reverse: if there is no schooner on a 2001 dime, you have the Volunteer coin. Its specifications are identical to the regular 2001-P, so the design is the only difference. It was struck at the Royal Canadian Mint's Winnipeg facility, like the regular dimes.
2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime by the numbers
Measured by how many were made, the 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime ranks 146th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2016 Canadian Dime (220 million); the next more common is the 1979 Canadian Dime (237.3 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 2.1 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 1498 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2001 output was 1.4 times the 2000 figure and 1.1 times fewer than 2002. Other 2001 dimes: 2001 P Canadian Dime (266 million).
Over the 2000s the Mint produced 2.94 billion dimes across 11 dates and varieties; the 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime accounts for 7.6% of that.
What to check on your 2001 P Year of the Volunteer Canadian Dime
- Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2001 coin sticks; a silver one would not.
- Confirm the variety: International Year of Volunteers design. 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 2001 Volunteer dime is a face value coin in circulated condition, since more than 224 million were struck. Uncirculated examples carry only a small premium. It is still a nice coin to keep as a souvenir of the year. Look for bright, unscratched coins. It belongs in any collection of Canadian circulating commemoratives, alongside the 1967 mackerel and the later Canada 150 dime. Coins from original rolls show the design best, since the low relief scratches easily. Keep one with a regular 2001-P to show both reverses of the year.
Dora de Pédery-Hunt dimes (1990 to 2002)
In 1990 the Machin portrait gave way to one by Dora de Pédery-Hunt, the first Canadian artist to design the royal portrait on Canada's coins. She shows the queen wearing a crown, facing right, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. Hahn's Bluenose carried on unchanged on the reverse. Mintages swung widely through the decade, from 50,397,000 in 1991 to 258,462,000 in 1999, as demand rose and fell.
Nickel had become expensive and in the early 2000s the Royal Canadian Mint switched the dime to a cheaper multi-ply plated steel: a steel core with thin layers of plating that keep the familiar white look. The plated dime weighs 1.75 g, lighter than the 2.07 g nickel coin, at the same 18 mm. To tell the two apart the mint added a small P below the queen's portrait, for plated. The 2001 dimes also include a special design for the International Year of Volunteers, the first circulating commemorative dime since the 1967 mackerel.
Most dates here are face value coins, though 1996 and 1997, both under 52 million, are the scarcer ones in uncirculated condition. A magnet will not help with these, since nickel and plated steel are both attracted to it. Look for the P instead and on a 2001 check the reverse to see whether you have the schooner or the Volunteer design. Bright coins from mint sets are the ones worth keeping.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2001 |
| Circulation mintage | 224,714,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 1.75 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 2001 Canadian dimes
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 P Canadian Dime | 266,000,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why do some 2001 dimes have no ship on them?
It is the International Year of Volunteers commemorative dime. In 2001 the mint struck 224,714,000 dimes with a design honoring volunteers instead of the schooner. They went into normal circulation.
Is the 2001 Volunteer dime rare?
No. With 224,714,000 struck it is common and worth face value in circulated condition. Uncirculated coins carry a small premium, but its main appeal is as an easy commemorative to find.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.