JarSort · Inherited coin values
1968 Canadian silver dime — silver or nickel?
A 1968 Canadian dime can be .500 silver or plain nickel — same Bluenose design, same date, very different value. The silver version melts for $2.02 (NGC) or $1.75 (Royal Canadian Mint); the nickel version is worth 10 cents. The magnet test decides which one you have.
The three numbers that matter
Prices as of Oct 24, 2026 · Silver spot $53.80/ozt (Kitco) · Circulated, common date, problem-free, raw (uncertified) unless stated
No number is shown until the magnet test is done: a 1968 dime that sticks to a magnet is nickel (10¢). Weighing cannot settle the dime — the nickel version weighs 2.07 g, too close to the Mint's 2.02 g silver figure to separate on a scale.
The magnet test first
Hold a magnet to the coin. Sticks = nickel, worth 10¢. Doesn't stick = silver. That is the first test, and it decides the price.
Weigh it — and know what the scale can and cannot tell you
Use a 0.01 g scale. About 2.33 g supports the NGC melt ($2.02). Near 2.02 g cannot settle it: the nickel version weighs 2.07 g, only 0.05 g away — effectively inseparable on a scale in circulated condition. Under the Mint figure, silver and nickel weigh almost the same, so the magnet test is what separates them.
Why 1968 is two coins
Canada dropped silver from its coinage in 1968. Early 1968 dimes were struck in .500 silver, later ones in pure nickel — same Bluenose design, same date. Only the date separates a $2 silver dime from a 10-cent one, and only the magnet separates silver from nickel within 1968.
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