The U.S. Mint has released preliminary mintage figures. Of particular note are the Kennedy half mintages of 1.7 million for P & 1.7 million for D issues for a total of 3.4 million coins.
If unchanged, 2008 will by far be the lowest mintage for the entire Kennedy series. Collectors are already talking about the possibility of 2008 being the key to the series. But will it carry a hefty price premium like some hope?
The answer to this question is…probably not. Kennedy halves have not been issued for general circulation since 2002. This means that most of the 3.4 million coins are either in the hands of collectors or dealers and in a condition of BU. That's quite a few coins available to collectors. Does this mean that they are worthless?
Absolutely NOT! The low mintage will more than likely garner a small price premium over other Kennedy issues, just not enough to retire on :) On the other hand, quite a few coins have been altered to add an image of President Obama making them worthless so maybe 3.4 million might be an over estimate. To be on the safe side this collector picked up a couple of coins just in case.