I think this would be a fun set. It looks like 1948 is a tricky year. I learned that due to India gaining its independence in late 1947, the phrase IND IMP (India's Emperor) had to be removed from future British currency. Canada didn't get the new half dollar dies for 1948 until late that year, so very few were dated 1948. Hence, it's scarce and expensive. A silver half dollar Elizabeth set should be pretty easy to put together, 1953-1967. A George the VI set should be easy enough except for 1948, 1937-1951. Will going backwards from there be nearly impossible? How about others on the board? What do you have?
I was looking for a 1958 Canada silver dollar (the totem pole one) raw in decent condition at Philly, and found NONE. The 1948 half is pricey.
Halves were not heavily collected at any time and really didn't circulate much from WWII on. I think, except for the '48, 47 variety & '21, you are pretty clear back to the Edward's. Getting to the Vicky's will be tough. Again, since they weren't collected much, huge numbers of them were sold as scrap in the last 10 years.
Unfortunately, yes. I attempted to buy some from a local shop but they sent off a whole bag (300+ of coins) to melt. It's really disappointing!
There was one dealer who had GORGEOUS Canadian halves near the back of the hall, near the Men's room. It's how I saw them.
Little to no progress made on this set. A couple shops visited and no luck. Few seem to keep these around.
This is a rather specialized area - unless you visit a dealer of Canadian coins, or a foreign coin dealer with a large selection of Canadians, you won't have much luck. This is where things like Ebay really shine - you'll probably be able to build an attractive set fairly easily if you are patient and selective from the Ebay options.
The specialist collectors in Canada collect the 50 Cent pieces (they don't have Half Dollars) and Cents, not the Silver Dollars. In the U.S. it is Large Cents and Morgans. The '47 Maple Leaf is actually a 1948 half. For Dollars, the '47ML is the lowest mintage "1948" Dollar, not the actual '48. Canada is a great thing to collect - especially here in the states where you can find dealers that just care about U.S. coins, and buy Canadian cheap and sell it cheap.
I saw that vendor in the back with all the Canadian halves in a box. Had I not already spent my money, I would have bought a few, as they seemed to be a good price.
