The 1936-dated Delaware half dollar were struck in 1937 and commemorate the 300th anniversary of Swedish colonists settling lands that now form Delaware. The coin was sold in 1938, exactly 300 years after the landing of the Dutch-built ship Kalmar Nyckel. While the ship adorns the reverse of the coin, the obverse depicts Old Swedes/Holy Trinity Church, built circa 1698 and still stands in Wilmington, Delaware, as the nation's oldest church building still used for worship as originally built.

The Delaware Tercentenary half dollar was designed by Carl L. Schmitz and was sold for $1.75. The coin is relatively scarce, and many uncirculated survivors boast semi-prooflike surfaces. Gems are plentiful in the marketplace, though marks in the broader flat surfaces of the ship's sails often keep the coins from grading into the Gem level. Coins grading MS67 of higher are rare.