I had to look into it because once you mentioned that I was curious.
So the saying originated sometime before 1930 when it first appeared in print and likely in the 1800s. (Source)
And when I went to an inflation calculator the earliest date I could select was January of 1913. Which I couldn’t help but share the results of.
About $3.20.
So yeah, about a dime a dozen… 111 years ago lol.
Which is interesting, because the point of the phrase is to imply something is so commonplace that it practically has no value. It’s so commonplace you can get a dozen of them for a dime!
So technically while the relative value of the dime in this phrase decreases, the relative value of the phrase itself increases as the dime’s value ever further approaches negligible, ever better emphasizing the point!
Words are fun.
