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A friend gave me a pretty interesting Challenge Coin
December 27, 2017, 05:21 PM
Ronin1069A friend gave me a pretty interesting Challenge Coin
For Christmas he gave me a DEVGRU challenge coin. It is the one with the gold front and colored in American Flag...on the other side it is black with the assorted units in gold and 6 gold stars circled in the middle.
He’s retired now, and talks very little about what he did in the Navy, but we’ve talked enough that I know he did “stuff”.
I’d post a pic but for whatever reason he asked me not to post any pics of it on the internet.
You can Google the description I gave and find it pretty easily.
1 - I’d never sell it.
2 - I’m pretty freeking honored
3 - Please...no one post a pic of what they look like. I thought it was a cool enough gift to share, but I want to respect his request.
Semper Fi
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For those who have fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know
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December 27, 2017, 06:23 PM
yaniciquote:
DEVGRU challenge coin
Nice gift. I had to google it though. I guess there are various versions of that coin. I was surprised that there are some for sale on EBAY.
John
"Building a wall will violate the rights of millions of illegals." [Nancy Pelosi]
December 27, 2017, 07:11 PM
bald1Very very special gift you've received.
E-mail sent.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club!
USN (RET), COTEP #192
December 27, 2017, 07:44 PM
TMatsI was given a comparable challenge coin. Can you guess why he requested that you not post a picture—especially given the fact that pictures are out there?
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despite them
December 27, 2017, 08:12 PM
Rey HRHJust an observation, especially with regards to your statement of not selling it which I can agree with.
I see some of those challenge coins selling for $600 to $800 on ebay when I googled for the picture.
And, yeah, if someone gave it to me as a friend, I certainly wouldn't sell it even knowing it's worth. I'm going to be pretty hard up before I'd sell it and, even then, I might offer to return it to him seeing as how I can't keep it.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
December 28, 2017, 07:20 AM
Ronin1069quote:
Originally posted by TMats:
I was given a comparable challenge coin. Can you guess why he requested that you not post a picture—especially given the fact that pictures are out there?
I don't have any idea, but I'll respect his request.
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All it takes...is all you got.
____________________________
For those who have fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
December 28, 2017, 11:00 AM
roarindanwow... I'd be very proud of this gift.
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December 28, 2017, 11:40 AM
cworetiredMust be some friend to give you a gift like that.
December 28, 2017, 11:46 AM
Sig M11Sounds like a great gift...
Those things can cause trouble:
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-083100a.htmlDecember 28, 2017, 06:25 PM
dewhorseVery nice gift....
A very good friend gave me a similar coin that was issued soon after 9/11, I was showing my 5yo my coins just before veterans day and he loved that coin....asked to take it to.show and tell
Of course it was lost....I looked online, they don't exist.....could even not find an example to even give his teacher an example.
Luckily, it turned up.....
Again, nice gift....when a General gives you a coin it's nice, when a friend gives you a coin it's special
December 28, 2017, 07:52 PM
Ronin1069quote:
when a friend gives you a coin it's special
Yep.
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All it takes...is all you got.
____________________________
For those who have fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
December 29, 2017, 12:56 AM
LDDquote:
Originally posted by TMats:
I was given a comparable challenge coin. Can you guess why he requested that you not post a picture—especially given the fact that pictures are out there?
Ronin's friend may not know if there are photos of the actual coin out there as photos and coins can both be counterfeited.
But I would guess that counterfeiting is the reason for the opsec around the coin itself. No matter if the photos on the internet are real or fake, Ronin's friend knows that the coin he gave to Ronin is real. Ergo, if Ronin posts photos of it on the internet, it makes it that much more possible that a very good counterfeit of the actual coin could be produced.
If they actually are selling for $600-800 each, you can bet someone out there will be making fakes.
December 29, 2017, 08:20 AM
sigfreundquote:
Originally posted by LDD:
Ergo, if Ronin posts photos of it on the internet, it makes it that much more possible that a very good counterfeit of the actual coin could be produced.
I agree.
There are many photos of coins on the Internet, but most are of the front only. There is one photo set of the front and back, and it’s very odd. The front of the coin is finely detailed, but the back side is much cruder. Further, the details of the eagle and trident symbol on the front are significantly different from the actual uniform insignias that come up with a different search. On the coin the ring at the top of the anchor is not visible and the anchor fluke partially covers the trident.
There’s no reason to post photos of coins that are known or are suspected to be bogus, and not posting photos of known genuine coins helps prevent their being counterfeited.
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I can tell at sight a Chassepot rifle from a javelin. December 29, 2017, 08:33 AM
Butch 2340It's nice to have friends like that.
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December 29, 2017, 08:52 AM
JALLENTo add more to the confusion of outsiders, I believe a coin is produced for each major op, distributed only to participants, and significance known only to them.
Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.
When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown December 29, 2017, 11:48 AM
bald1quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
To add more to the confusion of outsiders, I believe a coin is produced for each major op, distributed only to participants, and significance known only to them.
Not true. A unique coin is usually designed for a commander to bestow during his/her tenure. A unit member will have received a coin from senior leadership for an act, accomplishment, or event. That covers a wide gamut from everything from a special act contributing to a successful mission, to achieving a particularly difficult professional development goal, to retirement. So every coin has a story but only Ronin1069's friend can tell it about the coin he gifted.
And FWIW a challenge coin can also be presented to a military retiree or civilian by leadership as a form of special recognition.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club!
USN (RET), COTEP #192
December 29, 2017, 02:28 PM
JALLENquote:
Originally posted by bald1:
quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
To add more to the confusion of outsiders, I believe a coin is produced for each major op, distributed only to participants, and significance known only to them.
Not true. A unique coin is usually designed for a commander to bestow during his/her tenure. A unit member will have received a coin from senior leadership for an act, accomplishment, or event. That covers a wide gamut from everything from a special act contributing to a successful mission, to achieving a particularly difficult professional development goal, to retirement. So every coin has a story but only Ronin1069's friend can tell it about the coin he gifted.
And FWIW a challenge coin can also be presented to a military retiree or civilian by leadership as a form of special recognition.
I was referring to what I have been given to understand about SEAL practice, not the military in general.
Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.
When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson
"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown December 29, 2017, 03:00 PM
bald1quote:
Originally posted by JALLEN:
I was referring to what I have been given to understand about SEAL practice, not the military in general.
Jim, don't know where you heard that but from what I understand that's not true for DEVGRU. And frankly given the cloak on their OPs I doubt very much a "special" coin would ever be tolerated commemorating an individual mission.
Certifiable member of the gun toting, septuagenarian, bucket list workin', crazed retiree, bald is beautiful club!
USN (RET), COTEP #192
December 29, 2017, 06:28 PM
Blume9mmI understand the honor of getting a coin like this as a gift... but my question is what would you do with it? You as far as I know can not 'use' it. or if you did that would be a dishonor to those that earned it.
My Native American Name:
"Runs with Scissors"
December 29, 2017, 06:45 PM
Ronin1069quote:
but my question is what would you do with it?
I have very few things in my office that I "display". This now a a special spot next to my computer monitor. When I look at it I think of my time in the Corps, my friend who gave it to me, and I am reminded that there are men out there right now, doing things they will never get credit for, in the name of freedom.
That is the best answer I can give.
___________________________
All it takes...is all you got.
____________________________
For those who have fought for it, Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ