Our ten-cent piece, the dime, was first authorized in 1792, the year that the U.S. adopted the decimal system of coinage, and in 1796 production began.  The word “dime” was derived from the old French word “disme,” meaning “tenth part” or “tithe.”
The dime’s composition consisted of 89.24 percent silver and 10.76 percent copper until 1837, [...]