TO COIN A PHASE: METAL MEMENTOES MOVE FROM GREEN BERETS TO BOY SCOUTS AS AWARDS AND COLLECTOR’S ITEMS

Coins are no longer round, but come in all sizes and shapes, such as the U.S. Armor Center's CG coin that is shaped like a track vehicle's cog wheel

The red, blue and bronze coin, 2 inches in diameter, is the latest local example of a Beanie Baby-type tsunami that has swept the uniformed services, engulfed government agencies and is now spreading to private sector corporations. Variously termed “unit,” “challenge,” “honor” or “military,” the coins have become the currency of choice for awards, identification pieces and even—like stamps and baseball cards--collector’s items. Since the early ‘80s, when a federal law first allowed wide discretion in designing government employees’ awards, coins have been palmed throughout all five military branches.

More recently, civilian agencies and local governments have started distributing them to their members and employees. And just this year, private companies have begun to embrace the idea. “Now they’re getting out into the civilian population,” says Maurice Green, general manager of Birmingham, Ala.-based Military Service Co. “I’m going after business corporations to do—not just coins—but medallions heavy as a hockey puck.” The retired Marine lieutenant colonel says his firm’s sales have doubled in the past year.

From a handful in the Vietnam War era, the number of coins has metastasized into the tens of thousands. Probably every U.S. military unit now has its own; individual campaigns (“Operation Just Cause” in Panama) and special groups (POWs, veterans) are commemorated in coins; fire and police departments, rescue squads, Boy Scouts, fraternities and defense contractors hand them out. Most are made of antique bronze, but custom orders include antique silver, nickel- and gold-plated coins. Cost depends on the number ordered, type of metal and any special features; simple coins in quantity start at around $6.50 each. Casting die fees range from $300 to $700 in most cases. Rush orders cost more.

Dozens of companies have barged into the market. Many of them post their wares and prices on Web sites, but the military grapevine gets the word out on good deals and neat designs.

Like the reclusive Tyco company that makes Beanie Babies, origins of the coin phenomenon are murky. Some trace its roots back to ancient Rome whose soldiers were sometimes given coins for gallantry. Another theory is that, in 17th century Britain, metal buttons, often embossed with distinctive designs, were used in trade as equivalents to money. Yet a third tale suggests that a World War I American aviator, rich and from the Ivy League, had bronze medallions cast for the men in his squadron. One pilot was shot down over Germany, escaped from the Germans who’d taken his ID, and avoided a French firing squad only by showing them the medallion in a pouch around his neck. A World War II version has dogfaces getting coins when they mustered out.

Paula Johnson shows off the cog wheel and an Eagle Scout Medallion with neck ribbon

Then coins began to rain like, well, pennies from heaven. From elite units, the coin custom filtered throughout the whole Army, then other branches and finally, in the ‘90s, the ritual exploded into a fad. Military Service, the Birmingham company, now stocks 148 different coins and “a huge number” of custom-ordered coins, says Green, who served as a Marine officer in Vietnam. One international security firm just ordered 500 coins from him, and he does business with such major defense contractors as Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. Raytheon, for example, ordered a key chain coin engraved with its Maverick Missile system. “I’m going after insurance companies, naval hospitals, military museums, big corporations,” he adds. “It’s almost an endless market.”

Today the coins serve as “attaboys” to reward jobs well done which don’t quite qualify for a medal or extra money. As they’ve proliferated, commercialization has led to some abuses, including overspending and counterfeiting. In 2000, reported the Wall Street Journal, the Army proposed that only colonels and generals could hand out coins. But an outcry from soldiers worldwide quashed the idea. The Journal quoted Lt. Col. Paul Mittelstaedt, “If the Army is so worried about the money spent on coins, buy one less M-1 tank or B-2 bomber and fund the coin program for the next 10 years.”

Coins will be around for a lot longer than that. One reason was summarized by Sgt. Joel E. Welsh on the www.militarycoins.com Web site: “For years after I’m out of the service, paperwork and awards and COA’s will have long been lost. But coins will remain, with all the pride and symbolism that they hold. They will be a constant reminder of all the personal pride and hard work that I’ve put into my career.”

The original coin also involved a gunfighter-like standoff. In any hootch bar in Vietnam, a soldier could brandish his coin and challenge his neighbor to display his. If he showed it, the challenger bought the round; if he didn’t, drinks were on him. (The coins are said to have replaced specially engraved bullets and, as warrior testosterone kicked in, even 105 mm. cannon shells.)

In more sober military times, the challenge has assumed other permutations. Randy Riggins, who as a U.S. Army major was area commander for the Corps in Central America in the late ‘80s, recalls he was once skydiving with other paratroopers. “As we were falling, this guy pulls out his airborne coin and flashes it at me,” Riggins chuckles. “So I had to show him mine.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Coin Rules of Engagement

The coin shalt be on thy person at all times.
Thou shalt be responsible for the security of your coin at all times.
Thy coin shan’t be altered to allow for wear as ornamentation.

Coin Challenge:

If thy coin strikes a hard surface, it constitutes a coin challenge, and requires immediate ate response from those present.
All other coin owners must produce their coins.
If everyone produces a coin, the challenger must purchase a libation for the group. If a coin owner fails to produce a coin, that individual must buy a round