1961 Canadian Dime

Quick answers

Is the 1961 Canadian Dime rare?

Not by mintage. 26.9 million were made, but it is silver, so even worn examples are worth their metal value rather than face value.

How many 1961 Canadian dimes were made?

26,850,859 were struck for circulation.

What is the 1961 Canadian Dime made of?

80% silver, 20% copper. It weighs 2.33 g and measures 18.03 mm.

Is the 1961 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.

How to recognize it

The 1961 Canadian Dime is round, 18.03 mm across and 80% silver, 20% copper.

1961 Canadian Dime by the numbers

In mintage terms the 1961 Canadian Dime ranks 89th lowest of 157 Canadian dime dates and varieties from 1858 to 2024. The next scarcer is the 1943 Canadian Dime (21.1 million); the next more common is the 1966 Canadian Dime (34.6 million).

For scale, the most common is the 2008 Canadian Dime with 467.5 million, about 17 times as many. The scarcest is the 1884 Canadian Dime with 150,000, 179 times fewer than this one.

Compared with the dates around it, the 1961 output was 1.7 times fewer than 1960 and 1.6 times fewer than 1962.

Over the 1960s the Mint produced 659 million dimes across 12 dates and varieties; the 1961 Canadian Dime accounts for 4.1% of that.

What to check on your 1961 Canadian Dime

• Check the date first: silver Canadian dimes carry dates from 1858 to 1968; this one has 0.0599 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.

Elizabeth II laureate silver dimes (1953 to 1964)

Elizabeth II became queen in February 1952 and her first Canadian dimes are dated 1953. Mary Gillick's portrait shows the young queen with a laurel wreath in her hair and no crown, facing right, with ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA around it. The relief of the first dies was too high and the shoulder struck up poorly, so during 1953 the relief was lowered and the detail strengthened. The revised version shows a fold or strap line across the queen's shoulder, which gives the 1953 dime its two varieties: no shoulder fold and shoulder fold.

Hahn's Bluenose stayed on the reverse. The dime was still 80 percent silver at about 2.33 g and 18 mm, about 0.06 troy oz of silver. Apart from a dip to 4,493,150 in 1954, mintages grew steadily through the 1950s and then exploded in the early 1960s, reaching 49,518,549 in 1964. Canada's population and economy were booming and toward the end of the period rising silver prices encouraged people to put silver coins aside.

These are the most common Canadian silver dimes and turn up regularly in old coin jars. The 1954 is the lowest mintage of the run and is the date most collectors try to find in uncirculated condition. On 1953 dimes check the shoulder for the fold line. Gillick's portrait wears quickly at the hair and the laurel leaves, so look there first. Almost every date trades at its silver value when worn.

Mintage chart

Specifications