2012 Canadian Dime

Quick answers

Is the 2012 Canadian Dime rare?

No. 334.7 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.

How many 2012 Canadian dimes were made?

334,675,000 were struck for circulation.

What is the 2012 Canadian Dime made of?

Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 1.75 g and measures 18.03 mm.

Is the 2012 Canadian Dime still legal tender?

Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender.

How to recognize it

The 2012 Canadian Dime is round, 18.03 mm across and nickel-plated steel.

2012 Canadian Dime by the numbers

In mintage terms the 2012 Canadian Dime ranks 155th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 2006 P Canadian Dime (312.1 million); the next more common is the 2009 Canadian Dime (370.7 million).

For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 1.4 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 2231 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 2012 output was 1.1 times the 2011 figure and 3.2 times the 2013 figure.

Over the 2010s the Mint produced 1.97 billion dimes across 11 dates and varieties; the 2012 Canadian Dime accounts for 17% of that.

What to check on your 2012 Canadian Dime

• Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2012 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.

Susanna Blunt plated steel dimes (2003 to 2022)

In 2003 the mint introduced a new portrait of Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt, showing the queen without a crown. Both portraits were used that year, so the 2003 dime exists crowned and uncrowned. The P for plated stayed under the portrait until partway through 2006, when the mint's own logo took its place. The dime itself is multi-ply plated steel at 1.75 g and 18 mm, with a reeded edge and Hahn's Bluenose is still on the reverse.

With the cent no longer distributed from 2013 and cash use slowly falling, dime mintages wobbled from year to year. The record is 467,495,000 in 2008, while 2013 dropped to 104,775,000. Two circulating commemoratives broke the run of schooners. In 2017 Canada 150 dimes, 20,000,000 of them, carried a winning design from a public contest and the dates 1867 and 2017. In 2021 the mint marked a century since the Bluenose was launched with a dime carrying the dates 1921 and 2021.

Every date in this period is common and almost all are face value coins. The 2017 Canada 150 dime is the one most people set aside, being far scarcer than the regular 2017. Check 2021 dimes for the angled Bluenose commemorative and 2003 coins for the crowned or uncrowned queen. Unworn coins from mint rolls or sets are the ones to keep if you are building a collection.

Mintage chart

Specifications