When one talks about classic commemoratives, Delaware is not one that often gets mentioned. The ship on the reverse, although nicely done, cannot compare to the beautifully executed ship on the reverse of the Pilgrim half, and the obverse featuring a 17th century church, doesn't quite stand out as much as other iconic classic commemorative halves like San Diego, Oregon Trail, or Texas. Nevertheless, it is still a beautiful design. The sun rays barely peeking through the cloud and shining down on the church can be said to have quite powerful religious connotations, almost like heaven shining down upon a place of worship. And if one looks closely at the church itself, you can see that the walls and other features have a lot of tiny little intricate detail. The Swedish ship on the reverse is a beautiful commemoration of the Swedish connection to the state of Delaware. There were 25,000 of these struck.
Hmm, I wonder why I never had this one on my list. I like the ship. I think I’ll have to add this one. Yours is a superb example, and thanks for sharing!
I was born and raised in Delaware and have a number of items which issued at the time that the half dollar was issued. Here is photo of the Old Sweds Church, which still stands in Willmington. Regular church services are still held there. The ship on the reverse of the coin is the Kalmar Nyckel. Here is a modern reproduction of the ship which docks in Delaware from time to time. Here is the cover of program which was issued during the celebration on June 27, 1938. My aunt was working for the state as a nurse at the time. She was one of the workers who helped with the celebration. Believe it or not, these programs were still available at the state museum in Dover as late as the 1980s. Here is a folder in which the half dollars were issued. This is one of three examples of I have of the coin. I usually don't keep duplicates, but each one has something I like about it. At any rate prices for this commemorative have fallen like a stone, so I don't have much incentive to sell any of them. This one has the toning which results from storing the coin in the original issued folder. Here a picture of the half dollar which is in the program. It is not the same as the finished coin. Finally the Sweds also issued a commemorative coin for the occasion, a half dollar sized two krona piece. I have quite a bit more Delaward stuff, but that's enough for now.
How much has it fallen? I paid $240 for this one in MS-66. Not sure if I could have done a little bit better but I really like the coin
I can remember when dealers were asking $1,700 for an MS-66, 30+ years ago. I paid $240 for an NGC MS-64. I paid $300 for an ANACS papers MS-64 over 30 years ago. I am buried in the MS-65 toned piece I posted before and a “white” MS-65, CAC. The prices have tanked.
