Does the Dime Lions' name have a deeper significance?

Question

In the duology of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, there are several criminal gangs. The two most important ones are the Dregs (crow symbol) and the Dime Lions (lion symbol). The gangs take pride in their symbols, to the point that they identify as their symbols:

"If you're not from the Barrel, you might find it hard to tell lions from crows."
_{Quote from Kaz, Crooked Kingdom, Chapter 33}

The reasoning behind the crow symbol is explained in Crooked Kingdom:

"Kaz," she asked suddenly. "Why crows?"
"The crow and cup? Probably because crows are scavengers. They take the leavings."
...
"Crows remember human faces. They remember the people who feed them, who are kind to them. And the people who wrong them too... They don't forget. They tell each other who to look after and who to watch out for."
_{Quote from Chapter 44}

I think this passage also explains the name "Dregs", as the gang sees themselves as scavengers - they take the dregs, and are seen as the dregs of society themselves. But that begs the question, what about the Dime Lions?

The Dime Lions' leader (Pekka Rollins) is the sworn enemy of Kaz Brekker, a main character, and the gang acts as an antagonistic organization at a few points throughout the books. Therefore it stands to reason that there is a meaning behind "Dime Lions". I'm interested both in why this gang would have a lion symbol, and why they would qualify their name with "Dime", which seems to suggest that they are cheap.

So, is there a deeper significance behind the name "Dime Lions"?

Answer 1

Huh. That's a great point. I never really thought about it until now.

Take Pekka Rollin's character: he's regarded as the "king of the Barrel". He's the wealthiest, most powerful Barrel boss in Ketterdam. And he's the one who someone like Kaz has sworn vengeance on.

In a way, Pekka is like a lion. He's aggressive, physically strong, smart, and sits the top of the food chain in the Barrel. I think the "Dime" is symbolic of Pekka's greed for money. It's interesting that you made the connection of a dime being cheap, a small amount of money. I think the dime being cheap is reflective of the extreme greed and significance that Pekka places even on that. I mean, he conjured an entire scam with a complete backstory and other actors to swindle Kaz and his older brother Jordie, who were just kids. The ends Pekka will go through for a bit more coin is analogous to the way a starved lion would chase after anything for the next meal.