Do you have any 2003 Silver Proof Sets? The set contains the five state quarters (Illinois, Alabama, Maine, Missouri and Arkansas) in one lens and the cent, nickel, dime, half dollar and dollar in a second lens. The red and white outer box includes the Mint’s emblem for the state quarters program and states “United States Mint Silver Proof Set™ 2003.”
Some of these sets include a Certificate of Authenticity that contains the correct information for the silver state quarters but shows the clad information for the dime and half dollar.
The inside version of the certificate is correct.
The outer portion showing the other coins’ composition contains the incorrect details.
On the corrected version, the information shows the proper details for the silver dime and half dollar.
When the US Mint caught the error, they sent the following letter with the correct Certificate of Authenticity.
The contents state:
Dear Customer,
While the United States Mint strives to provide the highest quality products and service to our customers, we regret that the 2003 United States Mint Silver Proof Set™ you recently purchased contains an inaccurate Certificate of Authenticity.
The Certificate of Authenticity indicates that the Roosevelt dime and the Kennedy half dollar included in the set contains 8.33 percent nickel with a balance of copper. The composition of these coins in the United States Mint Silver Proof Set is 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper – a combination known as “coin silver.”
The weight of the Roosevelt dime and the Kennedy half dollar were also incorrectly indicated as 2.268 grams and 11.340 grams respectively. The reprinted Certificate of Authenticity contains the correct weight of 2.5 grams for the dime and 12.5 grams for the half dollar coin.
Unfortunately, prior to discovering the discrepancies, a number of sets containing the incorrect Certificates of Authenticity had already been shipped. We have enclosed a corrected Certificate of Authenticity for your set.
If you would like further information, please contact the United States Mint at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and midnight (Eastern Time). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may call 1-888-321-MINT (321-6468).
We appreciate your support of the 2003 United States Mint Silver Proof Set Program and hope that you will allow us to be of service to you in the future.
Sincerely,
Gloria C. Eskridge
Associate Director for Sales and Marketing
United States Mint
If you purchased the US Mint’s 2003 Silver Proof Set from the Mint early in the program you may have received one of these letters. If you purchased your set(s) later in the program, they should contain the correct Certificate(s) of Authenticity.
But, if you purchased or plan to purchase 2003 Silver Proof Sets from a dealer, you may want to verify which certificate the sets contain – the silver Certificate of Authenticity or the half silver, half clad Certificate of Authenticity.