On July 28, the U.S. Mint began shipping its 2003 United States Mint Silver Proof Sets to customers who had ordered the coins. Two days later, on July 30, Mint officials realized the proof sets had been shipped with misprinted Certificates of Authenticity (COA), and halted further shipments. This is great news for the 90,000 coin collectors who were mailed the proofs before the Mint caught the error, because the misprinted COAs will add collector value to the set. It’s bad news, however, for the over 170,000 coin collectors who will now have to wait to receive their coins, with corrected COAs.

Shipments of the 2003 United States Mint Silver Proof Sets with corrected Certificates of Authenticity (COA) will resume August 15, 2003.

Misprinted COAs were identified on July 30, 2003, two days after the sets went on sale. 90,000 sets had been shipped to customers. The United States Mint immediately halted further shipments to the estimated 170,000 customers with outstanding orders until corrected sets could be mailed.

Customers who have already received their sets can expect a corrected COA in the mail in the next two weeks.

The misprinted certificates indicate that the Roosevelt dime and the Kennedy half-dollar included in the set are 8.33 percent nickel, and 91.67 percent copper. The composition of these coins in the United States Mint Silver Proof Set is correctly 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper – a combination known as “coin silver.”

Also, the weights of the Roosevelt dime and the Kennedy half-dollar were incorrectly listed as 2.268 grams and 11.34 grams, respectively. The reprinted Certificates of Authenticity contain the correct weights – 2.5 grams, and 12.5 grams, respectively.

Customers can check on the status of their silver proof set purchase by calling 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 order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468)

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