Why is 10 cents called a dime?

Dime - In 1785 Thomas Jefferson proposed a U.S. currency based on the dollar, comprising the mill, cent, disme, dollar, and eagle. Seven years later, with the passage of the Act Establishing a Mint, an American monetary system--and the dime--was born. read more

In his report to the Continental Congress on a new coinage system for the United States, Gouverneur Morris, who was familiar with the French language, recommended a coin to be called a disme, which was the-old French spelling; but the mint act approved in 1792 changed the spelling to dime. read more