Who determines what the Kennedy Mintage is every yaer? 2005 - 7.3M 2006 - 4.4M 2007 - 8.2M Why is 2006 such a down year?
All years from 2002 have not been minted for circulation. You could only buy them in mint sets, rolls or bags from the Mint. They show up in circulation very rarely as people accidentally spend them. Who determines it? I'm always confused on this one. I think it's congress, in any case, it's not the mint. 2006. Ah yes. Word on the street is that the 2006-P Kennedy is the lowest minted Kennedy EVER. The official figure is 2,000,000 minted. That is LESS than the famous 1970-D. So, if you're looking for a modern rarity......
Basically whatever the demand is. Banks aren't ordering them anymore, so it's really all on the collectors buying bags, rolls, and mint sets (since 2005 the mint sets have the matte finish as far as I know, not the standard business strike. I honestly can't tell the difference between the supposed matte finish and a well struck unicruclated, but maybe that's just me.) 2006-P may very well be the key, so far, but the series isn't over yet and the mintage of future Kennedys may be even less. A mintage of 2 million isn't "rare" though, it just happens to be rare than any other Kennedy, so far... 1970-D, 1987-P, 1987-D are about as rare (all about 2 to 2.5 million or so). 2006-P may be slighlty rarer, not sure if they have the final mintage figures yet. To be honest, and not that I'm complaining, I wonder why they continue to mint these... I see so many people argue against continuing to mint the penny, but people are actually using pennies... this coin isn't even minted for circlation anymore and has barely circulated at all during its 44 year long (and counting) existence. But if you keep buying them, they'll keep minting them lol... barring literally an act of Congress... I hear in 1987 they were trying to eliminate it (why none were issued for circulation that year) but a certain senator from Massachusetts argued it should be continued to preserve JFK's legacy. I'm sure you can guess which one lol... Maybe in 2017 they'll do a special reverse for JFK's 100th birthday, much like they're doing special reverses for the Lincoln cent for Lincoln's 200th? I figure they'll probably keep the series going at least that long. Maybe that could help get the general public to start using them again. I personally think they should either eliminate the half dollar or do something to make it acutally circulate again, seems wasteful otherwise. I'll still keep collecting it as long as they keep making it though lol... I've been fond of halves since I learned of their existance and wish they would actually become useful again.
Speaking only for myself, the Kennedy Half is my favorite U.S. circulating coin. I think it's very attractive and I was a college student in 1963 when JFK died, and I remember it was he who started my interest in politics and government. So, I think the coins are great. Also, most everyone agrees that if the paper doller were eliminated, the metal dollars would circulate. Might that also be true of the half dollars?
