Canada 50 Cents 1937 to 1958

Some collectors go bonkers over fully uncirculated coins. They look nice, but they are very expensive. Check out the coin in our picture. It looks nice but it is heavily circulated. The coin has acquired its pleasant look from circulation. Smart collectors on budgets seek out coins with good eye appeal, and this specimen has it!

These old half dollars with the lion/horse/shield/crown pattern on the reverse are made of silver. There are 0.3 troy ounces of silver in each coin. Coins after 1952 have Queen Elizabeth's image instead of King George's.

You can find the value of silver in the coin from web sites like kitco.com. Multiply the current price by 0.3 and that will be the base value of the coin.

In addition to base silver value, these coins carry collector value. Add these figures to the base value to get an approximate catalog value:

COINS WITH GEORGE VI:
worn: add zero, base value only
average circulated: add $4 US dollars
well preserved: add $20
fully uncirculated: add $50

COINS WITH ELIZABETH II:
worn: add zero, base value only
average circulated: add $1 US dollars
well preserved: add $4
fully uncirculated: add $10

The values above apply to all dates. One date, the 1948, carries more value, about four times the values shown above.

As Mike points out, coins dated 1947 have 'straight' and 'curved' varieties, and they also have 'normal' and 'maple leaf' varieties. CoinQuest intentionally disregards such varieties for two reasons: (1) there are oodles of varieties on thousands of different types of coins, and tracking them requires detailed coin catalogs, not general-interest web sites, and (2) CoinQuest is primarily for non-collectors and varieties are too much information for the average non-collector. If you become a coin collector, you will enjoy looking for rare varieties.

If you can find a tiny maple leaf near the 7 of a coin dated 1947, you have a valuable coin. The maple leaf is so small, it usually requires a magnifier to see it. If you find one, seek out a knowledgeable collector or coin dealer. A 1947 curved 7 maple leaf catalogs for $1700 in average circulated condition.
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