2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime
The 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 15 million made. Value band: face value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 2021
- Circulation mintage
- 15,000,000
- 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 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime worth?
With 15 million made, the 2021 Bluenose Centennial 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 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime rare?
- No. 15 million were made, so circulated examples are worth face value.
- How many 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian dimes were made?
- 15,000,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime made of?
- Nickel-plated steel. It weighs 1.75 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender.
The 2021 dime in context
For the hundredth anniversary of the Bluenose in 2021, the Royal Canadian Mint did something new with the dime: it issued a commemorative reverse showing the famous schooner in a fresh way. The design is by Yves Bérubé, a marine artist from Nova Scotia and it went into circulation on October 22, 2021. Some of the coins have the sea colored blue, which the mint called a first for a ten cent circulation coin.
The Bluenose became famous in the 1920s and 1930s as a fishing schooner that also won races against the best American vessels. She was lost on a reef off Haiti in 1946, but her image had already been on the dime since 1937. In her centennial year the mint marked the anniversary twice: with this new design and by adding 1921 to the classic Hahn reverse for the rest of the year's dimes. The mint announced about 6 million colored and 9 million uncolored Bérubé coins, while the 170,775,000 published for 2021 is the year's main dime figure. Both versions are common, but the blue ones are the coins most people set aside.
How to recognize it
The obverse shows Susanna Blunt's uncrowned portrait of the queen facing right, with ELIZABETH II D·G·REGINA. The reverse shows the Bluenose at an angle, heeled over under full sail on the open sea, with the dates 1921 and 2021. On the colored version the waves are printed in blue. At 1.75 g and 18 mm, the plated steel coin has a reeded edge and is magnetic. To tell it from the classic dime of the same year, look at the ship: Bérubé's schooner leans across the coin, while Hahn's is seen side on. Both versions were struck in Winnipeg.
2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime by the numbers
In mintage terms the 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime ranks 78th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1955 Canadian Dime (12.2 million); the next more common is the 1951 Canadian Dime (15.1 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 31 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 100 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 2021 output was 4.6 times fewer than 2020 and 6.9 times fewer than 2022. Other 2021 dimes: 2021 Dual Dated Canadian Dime (170.8 million).
Over the 2020s the Mint produced 478.4 million dimes across 6 dates and varieties; the 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime accounts for 3.1% of that.
What to check on your 2021 Bluenose Centennial Canadian Dime
- Try a magnet. Nickel-plated steel is magnetic, so a genuine 2021 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 2021 Bérubé Bluenose dime is a face value coin in circulated condition, with a small premium for bright uncirculated examples. The colored coins draw the most interest, especially when the blue is complete, since color on a circulating coin rubs away with handling. Keep one of each version together with a classic dual dated 2021. Bright coins from rolls show the sails best. Check every 2021 dime you find for the leaning ship before spending it. It takes only a moment and costs nothing.
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
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 2021 |
| Circulation mintage | 15,000,000 |
| Composition | Nickel-plated steel |
| Weight | 1.75 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Other 2021 Canadian dimes
| Coin | Circulation mintage | Value band |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 Dual Dated Canadian Dime | 170,775,000 | Face value |
Frequently asked questions
Why do some 2021 dimes have a blue sea?
They are the colored version of the Bluenose centennial dime designed by Yves Bérubé. The mint printed the waves in blue on about 6 million coins and released them into circulation in October 2021.
Why was the Bluenose so famous?
Launched in 1921, the Bluenose was a Nova Scotia fishing schooner that became a champion racer, beating American rivals in the 1920s and 1930s. She has appeared on the dime since 1937.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.