1858 Canadian Dime
The 1858 Canadian Dime is a Canadian dime struck for circulation with 1.25 million made. Value band: metal value. Here is how to recognize it, what makes one worth more and what to check on yours.
- Year
- 1858
- Circulation mintage
- 1,250,000
- Value band
- Metal value
- Composition
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver)
Original illustration of the coin's shape and metal. Tap to flip. Not a picture of the actual design.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1858 Canadian Dime worth?
The 1858 Canadian Dime is a silver coin with 0.0693 troy ounces of pure silver, so its floor is its metal value: 0.0693 times the day's silver spot price. With 1.25 million made, worn examples trade for about their silver; collectors pay more for sharp, original coins and much more for uncirculated ones with full luster.
What would make yours worth more:
- Sharp detail with original luster
- A recognized variety for the date
- Professional grading for a key date
For market prices, look at recent sold results for the same coin in the same condition, not asking prices.
Quick answers
- Is the 1858 Canadian Dime rare?
- Not by mintage. 1.25 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.
- How many 1858 Canadian dimes were made?
- 1,250,000 were struck for circulation.
- What is the 1858 Canadian Dime made of?
- Sterling silver (92.5% silver). It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.
- Is the 1858 Canadian Dime still legal tender?
- Yes. Canadian dimes are legal tender, but a silver one is worth more for its metal than its face value.
The 1858 dime in context
The 1858 dime is where Canadian ten cent coins begin. That year the Province of Canada, which covered what are now Ontario and Quebec, moved its public accounts from pounds, shillings and pence to dollars and cents. To make the new system work it needed coins to match, so it ordered a bronze cent along with silver 5, 10 and 20 cent pieces from the Royal Mint in London. The published mintage for the dime is 1,250,000.
That was a lot of coins for a colony of a couple of million people and it proved more than enough. No further dimes were struck for the Province and the next Canadian ten cent piece would not appear until 1870, three years after Confederation created the Dominion of Canada. The 1858 therefore stands alone: the only pre-Confederation dime and the first of a line that still runs today. Many were used hard for decades alongside British and American silver, which is why so many survivors are worn smooth. Silver from Britain, the United States and other places all passed hand to hand at the time.
How to recognize it
Victoria appears as a young woman facing left with a laurel wreath tied in her hair, surrounded by VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA. On the reverse, 10 CENTS and 1858 sit inside a wreath of maple leaves with a crown at the top, a design that set the style for half a century. It is sterling silver, 92.5 percent pure, weighing about 2.33 g with a diameter of roughly 18 mm and a reeded edge. That means a little under 0.07 troy oz of pure silver. The laurel portrait was used on dimes only this year, which makes an 1858 easy to recognize even when the date is weak.
1858 Canadian Dime by the numbers
By the numbers, the 1858 Canadian Dime ranks 36th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1901 Canadian Dime (1.2 million); the next more common is the 1903 H Canadian Dime (1.32 million).
For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 374 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 8.3 times fewer than this one.
Compared with the dates around it, the 1858 output was 1.3 times fewer than 1870.
What to check on your 1858 Canadian Dime
- Check the date first: silver Canadian dimes carry dates from 1858 to 1968; this one has 0.0693 troy oz. Silver coins are not magnetic and ring clearly when dropped on a hard surface.
- Never clean it. Rubbing or polishing leaves fine scratches that collectors spot at once and that cut the value of silver dates sharply.
- Look at the high points of the portrait and the design. Wear there sets the grade. The grade in turn drives the value of older dimes.
An 1858 dime always carries a collector premium thanks to its age and its place as the first of the series. Most surviving examples are well worn, so one with clear hair detail and readable leaf veins is a real find. Watch for holes, scratches and cleaning, all common on early silver. Collectors who build a run of Canadian dimes need this date to start, which keeps demand steady in every grade. A bright, original coin with full detail is a significant rarity, but even a worn one is a lovely thing to own.
Queen Victoria silver dimes (1858 to 1901)
Canada's ten cent piece began in 1858, when the Province of Canada, today's Ontario and Quebec, switched its accounts to dollars and cents and ordered its first decimal coins from the Royal Mint in London. That single 1858 issue had to last until after Confederation. Through the 1860s Canadians paid with American silver that circulated at a discount, so the new Dominion exported much of it and ordered silver of its own, starting with 1870. Canada still had no mint. London struck most years and the private Heaton mint in Birmingham filled several orders, adding a small H. Orders followed demand, so there are no dimes dated 1873, 1876 to 1879, 1895 or 1897.
Every coin of the reign is sterling silver, about 2.33 g and 18 mm with a reeded edge, holding a little under 0.07 troy oz of pure silver. The 1858 shows a young Victoria with a laurel wreath in her hair, while from 1870 she wears a diadem; both read VICTORIA DEI GRATIA REGINA CANADA. The reverse has 10 CENTS and the date inside a wreath of maple leaves with a crown on top. Mintages ran from 150,000 in 1884 to 1,870,000 for 1871-H. The source also lists small die varieties in 1870, 1886, 1891, 1892, 1893 and 1899.
The famous key is 1889, where only an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 of the reported 600,000 are thought to carry that date. The 1884, 1883-H, 1887, 1885 and 1890-H are also hard to find in decent condition. Read the date with a magnifier and look for the H, because 1871 exists both with and without it. Most survivors are heavily worn, often holed or bent, so any detail left in the hair and leaves lifts a coin above the crowd. Be wary of altered dates on the key years.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Denomination | 10 cents |
| Issuer | Royal Canadian Mint |
| Year | 1858 |
| Circulation mintage | 1,250,000 |
| Composition | Sterling silver (92.5% silver) |
| Weight | 2.33 g |
| Diameter | 18.03 mm |
| Shape | Round |
| Edge | Reeded |
Frequently asked questions
Why does the 1858 dime say only CANADA and not Dominion?
In 1858 there was no Dominion yet. The coin was issued by the Province of Canada, covering today's Ontario and Quebec, nine years before Confederation joined it with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick in 1867.
What sets an 1858 dime apart from later Victorian ones?
Look at the queen's head. On the 1858 she wears a laurel wreath in her hair, while the Dominion dimes from 1870 onward show her wearing a diadem. The date is the final check if it can still be read.
Mintage figures: Dime (Canadian coin) (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from Royal Canadian Mint figures. How we build these pages.