Got a 2003 Sac today at the bank

hughesm1

Looks like it was carried a bit before being spent, an AU58. I was under the impression the 2003 sacs were only available from the mint and were not released to circulation.

Another thing I noticed, it appears the 3 is of a higher relief than the zeroes; as if the master hub had 200 and the 3 was hand punched into the master hub significantly deeper, with that anomaly subsequently transferred to each working die (I've only seen one example of the 2003 and don't have anything else to go by so please correct me if I'm wrong in my thought.)

richbeat

I have seen other coins and other dates with a similar appearance. I would say you're correct in your assessment of the numeral 3. I specifically remember some Kennedy half dates looking that way. I think 1968 is one where the last numeral "8" is stronger than the others. Some of the board members here have stated that they have purchased 2002 and 2003 Sacs to get high grade ones. The ones that didn't make the grade were placed into circulation. I found a 2002D not too long ago so there will be some floating around. I'd keep it even though it's circulated, you never know what kind of premium that they may eventually have. I'm keeping mine and any others I find.

richbeat

Forgot to mention this: dates are no longer punched onto the master die. The galvano contains the complete date. I would imagine that it would still be possible, in the engraving process, for a digit(s) to be engraved a little stronger than the others.