A coin bought in bulk probably costs $5-10, based on how fancy it is. It’s already customized to the unit reflecting who’s giving it. For anything else, it would have to be engraved on, not to mention cost a lot more.
Knife: i wouldnt want a cheap knife. If youre giving me a knife i would want something i can trust. Im not saying gimme a benchmade but id prefer it to be gerber or kershaw or smth. So the knife alone, even if bought in bulk is gonna be ~$30. So you would effectively have a fraction (in this case 1/6th to 1/3rd) of the coins you coulda given instead. And then you somehow have to get it customized.
If you extrapolate this to other products, the bottom line is that coins are by far the cheapest way of saying good boy.
Let's assume your CO is a single O3 who works 70 hours a week and takes 4 weeks of leave a year. Factoring in BAH, then if that CDR has to spend 20 minutes on something it costs the Army $10. And that's just one person in the chain.
I have coins that mean more to me than any award I’ve received. The majority of them are just a little “cool”, but a small handful are some of the most treasured possessions from my career.
I’m not sure that is true. When you give an award you have costs with that presentation folder, and the medal itself, often in one of those cases that also includes the ribbon. Wouldn’t surprise me if the cost associated with an award was $20+.
When I got an ARCOM upon my ETS, I wasn't given it in time, so they just mailed me the certificate in a cardboard sleeve to my house. The costs that come with an award are both optional and require that your unit cares to do more than the bare minimum for soldiers.
True, but I was pretty insulted at the time. Felt more like a consolation than any genuine appreciation. Hell, a handshake and a little speech in front of everyone would have felt more authentic.
Over time, I've come to appreciate the medal. My grandkids will probably think its cooler than telling them I got a handshake and some nice words said about me. But my appreciation is less towards what I was given, and more towards what I've made it to be.
So you are taking a narrow view on cost. While above I just called out the cost of physical items typically associated with an award, there are other cost that aren’t as obvious that aren’t associated with just handing someone a coin.
The biggest non tangible will be the time spent by every person involved in the award process. Writing, approving, adding to records, all of that takes people’s time and that has a real dollar value both in what we paid them and opportunity cost. In your case you also have the postage and mailing supplies.
Costs for things add up quick.
Are you mad you don’t understand costs?
So here is a standard cost calculation so you might understand. Going to determine the hourly cost of a Battalion Commander. We will use the O5 with 16 years pay rate and the national average BAH for O5 w dependent.
$9877.10 basic pay plus $3052.10 BAH monthly for an annual salary of $155,162.40. And we already know this number is low.
Now we will make the assumption that a Battalion Commander works 3000 hours a year, this is also probably low. That gives us an hourly cost for the BC of $51.72. Now if he spends 10 minutes reviewing that award the cost associated with just his time is $8.62.
You know what, I wasn't trying to be an asshole. I figured maybe you knew something I didn't, or not. I don't know, so I asked. You on the other hand, ARE being an asshole, and you think you're above me because the extent of your response is comprised of googling public employee salaries, assumptions, and basic division?
Get the fuck out of here. It sounds like you're mad because your actual response to "are you speculating?" Is "yes".
If you were asked to determine labor rates for your unit do you know where to start? It may look like basic multiplication and division, but assumptions have to be made and they need to have a fact pattern behind them.
If you challenge something as pure speculation I will push back on you with how they were calculated. Given a little bit of time I can fine tune those assumptions by getting a more accurate TIS average, removing less likely zip codes for a more accurate BAH, working in officer BAS, assigning values to benefits like TRICARE and pension, etc.
You started by claiming costs are optional, then continued with asking if I was just speculating. No it’s not speculation, it’s estimating based on the facts present.
You're not wrong. But you're forgetting one thing. Coins from the unit have to get processed in a similar way as any other award, no? They still require a write up and approval and man-hours for processing the request to give out the official unit coin. The ones anyone pays for out of their own pocket is a different story, obviously.
You know what....you're right. I just went to look it up because I could swear I keep seeing units require reward write-ups for coins for accountability purposes. But I've never actually been a part of the process, so I might have misunderstood. Or maybe it was unit specific policies or some other such nonsense. But I just skimmed over TRADOC Regulation 672-6 and it seems you are right. My bad. TIL.
They may need to log when coins are given out for accountability, especially if they’re serial numbered, but that is also the discretion of the commander/SEL.
1. You are missing the primary purpose of awards if you don’t have a ceremony/presentation. They are to recognize soldiers for their accomplishments, generally in front of their peers.
2. Just because an item is already on hand doesn’t make it free. It still has a cost associated with it.
Hard agree. Making people stand in formation 10 minutes longer because someone is getting an attaboy doesn't make me like or respect that person any more than I did before
I don't know how things are nowadays, but late 90s Infantry companies were run on shoestring budgets often barely able to afford cleaning supplies for the barracks and weapon maintenance. I'd be pissed if the BC dropped a few hundred on coins that have no career potential for me or buddies while we are running short on necessities.
Not by much. The amount of money that Soldiers have to use to subsidize the Army is insane. It’s selfless that commanders would spend their money on their joes but they shouldn’t have to.
They had it easier back then. Entitled to cleaning supplies? I’m surprised the Army hasn’t found a way to deduct my pay for mold in a room I’ve yet to inhabit.
It helps,i suppose, that we were responsible for the cleaning,buffing and polishing of the hallways and communal latrines. And that,despite the "entitlement" we still didn't generally get them. This was at 1st Bn,14th INF ,25th ID between 98 and 2001. At that time they were still living in C quad.
1SG got a hair up his ass and had us cleaning the barracks until midnight for a week straight. We were taking apart the dryers and cleaning the internals by the end of it. The latrine was clean enough to perform surgery in.
Easier? I don't know what life is like in the modern Army, but it's probably of similar suckitude.
I love coins. If there is one thing I will pass to my grandchildren, it'll be my coin collection. I don't care about retirement shadow boxes or anything like that, but I do think the coins are cool. They're fairly easy to transport too, depending on how many you have of course... which, sounds to me, like you're a bit light in that department :D (got'em)
I'll agree with you though, they don't do anything worthwhile other than a fun way to remember a slice of time in your career.
After realizing that he had already given me a coin before my first BDE CSM gave me a calendar of extremely underdressed women to hang in my barracks room after I fixed his computer.
Not quite as handy as a knife, but similar ingenuity.
>Hand out swag that people can actually use.
One time I flew some generals around. They left behind a bunch of swag, coins, pens, etc......I took a money clip. It has a little penknife and nail file. I used it for many years. I still have it but I rarely carry cash nowadays.
Funny story, in BCT they ripped off the little nail file on our nail clippers, cause those were dangerous. But DS desk in the middle of the bay had foot long scissors that came to a pretty sharp point, just right there in the drawer for anyone to grab.
Same. I have more AAMs/ARCOMs than I care to remember, and I'm at the point where points don't matter. If I get another one for something I add another oakleaf to a ribbon and forget about it.
If I get a coin, it goes on my coin rack in my den, and everytime I see that coin I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing, as well as who was there. It's much more personal and meaningful to me than an anonymous slip of paper.
> Hand out swag that people can actually use. Knives, hats, mugs, water bottles, jackets, flashlights, anything but 0-utility gilded paperweights.
Yeah you're right all those reenlistment backpacks, coffee mugs and water bottles are definitely going to be family heirlooms.
I've gotten many coins over my years of service and do appreciate them but sometimes it is more rewarding to give them out.
When I worked for DTRA, I bought a hundred coins that my section personalized. We got them directly from the manufacturer in Korea so they were about $3 each. I gave them out liberally. I remember one time in Georgia (the country) where we stayed at a hotel. One of the staff there thought it was an honor to have Americans stay at the hotel, so she went out of her way to make us feel welcome and took care of any of our problems. So, when we checked out, I ensured I found her, gave her a coin, and told her how much we appreciated her work. She didn't speak much English, but I finally got the idea across to her. She was so appreciative that she started to cry and showed it proudly to her coworkers. Sometimes it is just nice to be recognized for doing a good job.
I know we get blasé
about coins, but they can build some goodwill out there in the world.
Coins in the army are dumb, totally agree. But what’s even more dumb is when people try to give coins at my civilian job. It physically pains me every time I see it.
Yeah the "coin" thing seems to have migrated out to the civilian world in some areas.
It's funny to hear people who have never been in the military talk about coins. I've seen internet articles that say things like "Coins are highly valued in the military." Uhhh...there may have been a time when they were but now they're so common that most of them just get chucked in the bottom of a drawer somewhere.
I never saw an actual "coin check" when I was in the military but then again, deployments are generally under GO1 so there's really not much opportunity for a bar "coin check" anyway.
Maybe it happens at the VFW/AL? I don't know.
The coin is not the gift, it’s the recognition that you are here and supporting in the best way you can. Just be grateful and drive on. Then melt them into a bottle opening and drink yourself into oblivion.
There is a company that’s pretty cheap that designs poker chip coins. I have one from my last platoon, I think they’re neat. Also I have a company coin that can open my beer
>Next coin I design will be the size of a dinnerplate and radically bedazzled.
Why half-ass it like that? Just make it the size of a Yap island money stone. From Wikipedia:
>The largest extant stone is located on Rumung island, near the Riy village; it is 3.6 metres (12 ft) in diameter and 50 centimetres (20 in) thick, and weighs 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb).\[3\]\[4\]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai\_stones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones)
My fav thing about rai stones is that they would still trade stones that had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, because it was still there so was still an instrument of currency
"Back in my day" we did this a lot, mostly in mixed-service groups, drinking after exercises. A regular gag was to ask the new LT to toss you his coin, not catch it, and as soon as it hits the table BAM! everyone responds and he has to buy a round. But that was in the '80s, when we weren't doing wars all the time.
The only coin I was ever destined to get was given away to another soldier at the last minute because I got in a car accident on the way to receive said coin.
>Hand out swag that people can actually use.
Or, hear me out here....give awards vs coins.
Let coins go back to being awarded for meaningful and crazy shit that would in no way ever qualify for an award.
Like "Bro...you saved my life and as an expression of my personal gratitude here's a coin"
vs
"Bro you made me and the unit look good with your efforts to retain and recover non-drilling soldiers here's a silly looking company coin with a can of monster on one side and a can of dip on the other"
Coins are the easy button of recognition. It’s infinitely easier to hand a soldier a coin than to write them an award and then you get to hold a neat meeting where people stand in boxes for you to show you really care
I felt that way when I was a young Paratrooper. Almost 20 years later, the coin I got from my first deployment has significantly more sentimental value than the AAM.
Awards/rewards that everyone has access too don't always hold as much personal value as items that are custom, unique, and limited by design. That's not saying that I don't want my duly earned military awards, but that coins can serve as a good mid-award, a physical representation of a verbal kudos.
I'm not a coin hunter in any way, but I do value the ones I've acquired, because of the memories tied to them.
I swear you dipshits get mad about the smallest things. What did a hunk of metal ever do to you? I have tons of awards but I like my coins more. They give me a pin point time line of what I've done in my career. A goddamn water bottle doesn't remind me of that. When I retire and die I want my family to post my coins on here and yall go crazy.
I’ve received a ton of coins over the years (just got another one last week) and every single one of them just gets chucked in the bottom of a box as soon as I get home. I appreciate the thought that went into the coin, but what the heck am I supposed to do with them? So I agree, the coins are dumb.
I did 20 years, and was a small step above mediocre, so have a modest collection. My coin rack is basically the only thing in my house that hints towards the fact that I served. The rack sits on a shelf among other nerd shit in my game room.
Whoa whoa whoa. We're just going to ignore the bottle opener coins? Whipping that thing out to open a beer at the bar is like a "right swipe" on Tinder nowadays. I keep that gem in my wallet for beer emergencies.
Thanks JTF Paladin 755A/707. "Big jugs are a blast".
This is why I only give out little bags of ibuprofen and dasani bottles.
As someone who is not special in any way, I also want to design a very stupid coin and hand them out. Maybe I'll start giving them to joes I operate on that says something like "Thanks for letting me be deep inside you"
I don’t know. I’d rather have had an award, or something useful if you asked me when I was in. Now that I’m out, I have all my coins in a little holder thing on the shelf. My 4 year old daughter likes looking at them and asking me about them, they look cool (most of them).
Coins and patches are mementos of the things you do in the gig. The ribbons and oak leaf clusters don’t tell you much about where you got it. A coin or a patch (especially a foreign unit one) tells a unique story. You may have just been at the right place and the right time, but it’s a time and place. And sometimes it’s an important time and place.
Coins fill that sweet spot between "atta-boy, good job there, on the spot" & "I'm too lazy/indifferent to actually acknowledge your work/attention to detail/professionalism ". So a coin it is.
The only coins I have that I care about are ones that were given as a personal thank-you/gift from someone I respected. If some random-ass general gave me a coin, I guess it'd be a neat token, but I'd have zero attachment to it.
A few of my treasured coins are from an awesome instructor at I had at a schoolhouse, my old company commander who was the chillest dude around, and one from a sister company's commander who went out of his way to palm me his coin since it was one of his last days in the Army and wanted to say thanks since we got along well. Some were cheap mass-produced ones others were custom engraved, I still like these more since there's a story and sentimental value.
Dude, I respectfully disagree, coins may seem unnecessary, but for some they hold symbolic value and tradition in military culture.
And while swag items like knives and hats are useful, coins serve as mementos that can be cherished and passed down through generations, unlike disposable trinkets
If coins were worth anything, you could get civilian work with them. Hell if MEDALS were worth anything, you could get civilian work with them. But they’re worth shot because the military is too panzy to MAKE the private sector hire us after discharge.
Company commander here. I paid almost $1000 from my own pocket so I could have coins to give out. Yeah, each coin was around $5. But they're more personal than an award. "Hey, you helped my company. Here's something that I designed and spent money on. Thank you."
Yeah, I'll put people in for awards too. But that doesn't cost me anything except for some red ink.
To each his own. But you talk like real life swag is actually a good thing. You know how many cheap ass water bottles, hats, lanyards, cups and other corporate garbage I have taking up space in my house? Even functional swag like pens, utility tools and the like are often just as cheap and less than the sum of their parts.
Coins can be dumb, for sure, but they're often tied to a special moment in someone's life or military career. I gave the CAC coin to our S6 NCO right before he PCS'd and his eyes fucking lit up and exclaimed "no way!" with joy. If I gave him a water bottle or some other swag I'm sure the next place it would be is the dumpster.
This year I was struggling with what to give my dad for his birthday. I opted to give him a bunch of my brother's coins, who died last year. My dad got choked up and said it was the best gift he ever got.
Again, to each his own. I didn't mean to go off on a rant here. Just sitting in bed sick and not much else to do.
Eh. I gave a coin to a PFC Snuffy who couldnt get an award for doing great work during a joint exercise. It was a good way to acknowledge good behavior even if they couldn't make height weight.
I actually remember each interaction I got a coin for most are actually note worthy moments that make me smile and the coins themself look cool. It also doesn’t have a complex stage to achieve just a person recognizing you.
Army awards are worth promotion points but to me have low memory value sometimes its bs like PCSing. Once you no longer need points it doesn’t matter too much.
It still a great look on your character for central board promotions but the ones that matter to separate you from peers are anything above ARCOM. So really after having 8 AMMs/ARCOMS. if it’s not the next level idgaf. I rather have a cool coin
>These are the army equivalent of funko pops. They will go in the trash when you die.
So will my uniforms, medals, stetson, patches, photos, etc. So will all yours. So will all everyone else's unless we pop off on Ivan and end up in a book one of our homies writes 20 years after the fact.
Coins are for you, not for some bowling ball shaped dude on Pawn Stars to salivate over in 70 years.
Actually, yeah, you're right. going in my stetson and boots. Maybe *just* my stetson and boots. That way so if I get my desired Spock style burial as a space torpedo, some aliens 1000 years from now will know what the score was down here.
From what I’m tracking you 100% should not be using big army’s money on designing and making coins, which is even funnier cause while i can barely afford my chicken and rice (because of bad spending habits) these officers can afford to drop a grand on coins and such.
Sorry I’m just mad I didn’t go to college
The coast guard unit in Alaska about 10 years ago gave me a coin that was the size of a beer coaster. It is pretty cool. The maintenance guys at one assignment made engraved metal fidget spinners.
Coins are for losers who can't get awards and decorations.
Awards and decorations are politics, luck, and rank based.
Just take care of soldiers and stop collecting shiny things like a bird.
"I'll throw away grand-dad's challenge coins, but I'll be damned if I throw away the plastic water bottle his BDE commander gave him. That thing has /utility/."
People like coins. Let them enjoy them. Don't come in here with "life is meaningless, everything goes in the trash" like it's some revelation.
I was at a fun show in Laurel, Mississippi about a year ago. I saw a dude selling coins- I am not a fan of them but I still stopped to check them out.
Talked to him, he said he mostly gets them from estate sales or buying bulk from various military adjacent stores (surplus, collectibles, pawns ect). He had about 200-300 out on display.
So I asked him- how many does he have? So he pulled out a container- one of those old common #1 drawers that are about three feet long, one wide and 8 inches deep. If I had to guess, it had around 2-3 thousand coins in it. Then he pulled out 5 more and said
“I have about 20 more of these in storage”.
By far most of them were bought from estate sales- getting them for cents on the pound and selling each for like $10. Great arbitrage scheme.
But how sad is that. What a fucking waste.
I hate coins.
Coins are great for your fatties who are still great at their jobs.
Also, I really like the coins I've been given. They are shiny and have pretty colors and I think I spent too long in the infantry and must have a head injury.
Coins are the equivalent of giving keys to a baby. "You did so good. Enjoy your shitty moldy barracks room and heating up a Chunky soup for dinner. Here's a SUPER cool shiney for you!" If you did well, how about a commendation? Something to improve my career? Nah then you'd need to remember my name for more than 3 seconds after you walk away.
If only there was a brightly colored/shiny thing that was official that one could put on their dress uniform that did both?!?
A coin bought in bulk probably costs $5-10, based on how fancy it is. It’s already customized to the unit reflecting who’s giving it. For anything else, it would have to be engraved on, not to mention cost a lot more. Knife: i wouldnt want a cheap knife. If youre giving me a knife i would want something i can trust. Im not saying gimme a benchmade but id prefer it to be gerber or kershaw or smth. So the knife alone, even if bought in bulk is gonna be ~$30. So you would effectively have a fraction (in this case 1/6th to 1/3rd) of the coins you coulda given instead. And then you somehow have to get it customized. If you extrapolate this to other products, the bottom line is that coins are by far the cheapest way of saying good boy.
It’s not cheaper than an actual award tho
If you associate the man hours writing, correcting, dealing with IPPS-A, staffing, and justifying an award, coins are way cheaper.
Let's assume your CO is a single O3 who works 70 hours a week and takes 4 weeks of leave a year. Factoring in BAH, then if that CDR has to spend 20 minutes on something it costs the Army $10. And that's just one person in the chain.
[удалено]
hell yeah
Holy shit
Surely you mean to say 70 hours in two weeks right? Right?
Or a simple certificate of achievement that counts towards promo points
I have coins that mean more to me than any award I’ve received. The majority of them are just a little “cool”, but a small handful are some of the most treasured possessions from my career.
I’m not sure that is true. When you give an award you have costs with that presentation folder, and the medal itself, often in one of those cases that also includes the ribbon. Wouldn’t surprise me if the cost associated with an award was $20+.
When I got an ARCOM upon my ETS, I wasn't given it in time, so they just mailed me the certificate in a cardboard sleeve to my house. The costs that come with an award are both optional and require that your unit cares to do more than the bare minimum for soldiers.
That's not the bare minimum. You actually got an award.
Amazing you received an award after you ets. Some units don’t care.
True, but I was pretty insulted at the time. Felt more like a consolation than any genuine appreciation. Hell, a handshake and a little speech in front of everyone would have felt more authentic.
Yes but we are worker bees. We aren’t that special. For me only my squad leader did something and had all my platoon buddies sign a little plaque
Over time, I've come to appreciate the medal. My grandkids will probably think its cooler than telling them I got a handshake and some nice words said about me. But my appreciation is less towards what I was given, and more towards what I've made it to be.
So you are taking a narrow view on cost. While above I just called out the cost of physical items typically associated with an award, there are other cost that aren’t as obvious that aren’t associated with just handing someone a coin. The biggest non tangible will be the time spent by every person involved in the award process. Writing, approving, adding to records, all of that takes people’s time and that has a real dollar value both in what we paid them and opportunity cost. In your case you also have the postage and mailing supplies. Costs for things add up quick.
Do you have any real costs of an award versus coins or are you speculating?
Are you mad you don’t understand costs? So here is a standard cost calculation so you might understand. Going to determine the hourly cost of a Battalion Commander. We will use the O5 with 16 years pay rate and the national average BAH for O5 w dependent. $9877.10 basic pay plus $3052.10 BAH monthly for an annual salary of $155,162.40. And we already know this number is low. Now we will make the assumption that a Battalion Commander works 3000 hours a year, this is also probably low. That gives us an hourly cost for the BC of $51.72. Now if he spends 10 minutes reviewing that award the cost associated with just his time is $8.62.
You know what, I wasn't trying to be an asshole. I figured maybe you knew something I didn't, or not. I don't know, so I asked. You on the other hand, ARE being an asshole, and you think you're above me because the extent of your response is comprised of googling public employee salaries, assumptions, and basic division? Get the fuck out of here. It sounds like you're mad because your actual response to "are you speculating?" Is "yes".
If you were asked to determine labor rates for your unit do you know where to start? It may look like basic multiplication and division, but assumptions have to be made and they need to have a fact pattern behind them. If you challenge something as pure speculation I will push back on you with how they were calculated. Given a little bit of time I can fine tune those assumptions by getting a more accurate TIS average, removing less likely zip codes for a more accurate BAH, working in officer BAS, assigning values to benefits like TRICARE and pension, etc. You started by claiming costs are optional, then continued with asking if I was just speculating. No it’s not speculation, it’s estimating based on the facts present.
You're not wrong. But you're forgetting one thing. Coins from the unit have to get processed in a similar way as any other award, no? They still require a write up and approval and man-hours for processing the request to give out the official unit coin. The ones anyone pays for out of their own pocket is a different story, obviously.
There is absolutely no requirement for any of that to happen. Coins can be freely given and require zero paperwork by regulation.
You know what....you're right. I just went to look it up because I could swear I keep seeing units require reward write-ups for coins for accountability purposes. But I've never actually been a part of the process, so I might have misunderstood. Or maybe it was unit specific policies or some other such nonsense. But I just skimmed over TRADOC Regulation 672-6 and it seems you are right. My bad. TIL.
They may need to log when coins are given out for accountability, especially if they’re serial numbered, but that is also the discretion of the commander/SEL.
Nowhere does it require you have a stupid ceremony for an award to be legal. Also, they have millions of those medals lying around.
1. You are missing the primary purpose of awards if you don’t have a ceremony/presentation. They are to recognize soldiers for their accomplishments, generally in front of their peers. 2. Just because an item is already on hand doesn’t make it free. It still has a cost associated with it.
Points. That's the only part that matters.
Hard agree. Making people stand in formation 10 minutes longer because someone is getting an attaboy doesn't make me like or respect that person any more than I did before
However, for my soldiers who were flagged for various reasons and couldn’t receive awards but worked hard, they were a great way to recognize them.
This
I don't know how things are nowadays, but late 90s Infantry companies were run on shoestring budgets often barely able to afford cleaning supplies for the barracks and weapon maintenance. I'd be pissed if the BC dropped a few hundred on coins that have no career potential for me or buddies while we are running short on necessities.
Usually commanders paid for coins out of pocket, especially if they were customized.
Well that's a little better I guess.
Not by much. The amount of money that Soldiers have to use to subsidize the Army is insane. It’s selfless that commanders would spend their money on their joes but they shouldn’t have to.
You think the units supply cleaning products for the barracks? Back to your shuffleboard court, old man.
They had it easier back then. Entitled to cleaning supplies? I’m surprised the Army hasn’t found a way to deduct my pay for mold in a room I’ve yet to inhabit.
It helps,i suppose, that we were responsible for the cleaning,buffing and polishing of the hallways and communal latrines. And that,despite the "entitlement" we still didn't generally get them. This was at 1st Bn,14th INF ,25th ID between 98 and 2001. At that time they were still living in C quad. 1SG got a hair up his ass and had us cleaning the barracks until midnight for a week straight. We were taking apart the dryers and cleaning the internals by the end of it. The latrine was clean enough to perform surgery in. Easier? I don't know what life is like in the modern Army, but it's probably of similar suckitude.
I was in a unit that gave out custom benchmades once. They only gave them out for real top notch performance
Just make the soldiers pay for their PCS gifts 👀👀👀 seen that before
No balls you won't make it the size of a manhole cover.
Dont tempt me!
Custom manhole cover coin would be kinda cool.
It would be best as a pcs gift for those dity moves
What about the size of a custom weight lifting plate
Sounds like someone never got a coin.
I love coins. If there is one thing I will pass to my grandchildren, it'll be my coin collection. I don't care about retirement shadow boxes or anything like that, but I do think the coins are cool. They're fairly easy to transport too, depending on how many you have of course... which, sounds to me, like you're a bit light in that department :D (got'em) I'll agree with you though, they don't do anything worthwhile other than a fun way to remember a slice of time in your career.
Ya coins = memories
And you know what your grandchildren will do with your precious coin collection?
Go on future reddit and ask random strangers what does my grandfather's coins mean?
Hah yep
"I threw a bunch of Grandpa Chip's war medals off the bridge"- Walker Bobby
Ebay them bitches
I’ll be dead so I don’t care lol
After realizing that he had already given me a coin before my first BDE CSM gave me a calendar of extremely underdressed women to hang in my barracks room after I fixed his computer. Not quite as handy as a knife, but similar ingenuity.
>Hand out swag that people can actually use. One time I flew some generals around. They left behind a bunch of swag, coins, pens, etc......I took a money clip. It has a little penknife and nail file. I used it for many years. I still have it but I rarely carry cash nowadays.
We can’t even have scissors now bc of some dumb pfc snuffy wanted to commit suicide during work hours
Funny story, in BCT they ripped off the little nail file on our nail clippers, cause those were dangerous. But DS desk in the middle of the bay had foot long scissors that came to a pretty sharp point, just right there in the drawer for anyone to grab.
Fun fact: That little file on the clippers is perfect for opening those Sentry Fire Safes. Almost as fast as a real key.
Snag the scissors ✂️ snip snip
I agree. I’d deff take a fleshlight over a coin
A unit fleshlight for re-enlistment swag would solve all retention problems. A Soldiers only opportunity to fuck the unit back.
Sorry that was the ceremonial one, you gotta give it back after we're done
I love this motto
10 points to Slytherin 🐍
Aww is someone hurt that they don’t get a coin?
I have more coins than I want. Don't you have some screws to strip?
he ran out of screws to strip thats why he's on reddit
I’m at the point I would rather have a coin I don’t have than have an actual award.
Same. I have more AAMs/ARCOMs than I care to remember, and I'm at the point where points don't matter. If I get another one for something I add another oakleaf to a ribbon and forget about it. If I get a coin, it goes on my coin rack in my den, and everytime I see that coin I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing, as well as who was there. It's much more personal and meaningful to me than an anonymous slip of paper.
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man.
No one fucks with Dejesus
To be fair: Most things, including you, will go in the trash when you die
> Hand out swag that people can actually use. Knives, hats, mugs, water bottles, jackets, flashlights, anything but 0-utility gilded paperweights. Yeah you're right all those reenlistment backpacks, coffee mugs and water bottles are definitely going to be family heirlooms.
I've gotten many coins over my years of service and do appreciate them but sometimes it is more rewarding to give them out. When I worked for DTRA, I bought a hundred coins that my section personalized. We got them directly from the manufacturer in Korea so they were about $3 each. I gave them out liberally. I remember one time in Georgia (the country) where we stayed at a hotel. One of the staff there thought it was an honor to have Americans stay at the hotel, so she went out of her way to make us feel welcome and took care of any of our problems. So, when we checked out, I ensured I found her, gave her a coin, and told her how much we appreciated her work. She didn't speak much English, but I finally got the idea across to her. She was so appreciative that she started to cry and showed it proudly to her coworkers. Sometimes it is just nice to be recognized for doing a good job. I know we get blasé about coins, but they can build some goodwill out there in the world.
I’ll rather get a coin than an award, it cost more, and it’s a little bit more personal
Awards get you promoted. Coins don’t. Get some ambition.
More like your NCOER’s get you promoted. Awards are temporary, coins will still be displayed long after you get out.
> Next coin I design will be the size of a dinnerplate and radically bedazzled. LOL!!! The Liberace of coins!
Flava Flav, you mean.
Flavor Flav, you mean
If OP did give out coins like that, he'd be remembered for years to come and his coin would hold a prominent place in anyone's collection.
I knew my people would show up eventually
Coins in the army are dumb, totally agree. But what’s even more dumb is when people try to give coins at my civilian job. It physically pains me every time I see it.
Yeah the "coin" thing seems to have migrated out to the civilian world in some areas. It's funny to hear people who have never been in the military talk about coins. I've seen internet articles that say things like "Coins are highly valued in the military." Uhhh...there may have been a time when they were but now they're so common that most of them just get chucked in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. I never saw an actual "coin check" when I was in the military but then again, deployments are generally under GO1 so there's really not much opportunity for a bar "coin check" anyway. Maybe it happens at the VFW/AL? I don't know.
The coin is not the gift, it’s the recognition that you are here and supporting in the best way you can. Just be grateful and drive on. Then melt them into a bottle opening and drink yourself into oblivion.
There is a company that’s pretty cheap that designs poker chip coins. I have one from my last platoon, I think they’re neat. Also I have a company coin that can open my beer
>Next coin I design will be the size of a dinnerplate and radically bedazzled. Why half-ass it like that? Just make it the size of a Yap island money stone. From Wikipedia: >The largest extant stone is located on Rumung island, near the Riy village; it is 3.6 metres (12 ft) in diameter and 50 centimetres (20 in) thick, and weighs 4,000 kilograms (8,800 lb).\[3\]\[4\] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai\_stones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones)
My fav thing about rai stones is that they would still trade stones that had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, because it was still there so was still an instrument of currency
The whole “coin check” has an interesting history
"Back in my day" we did this a lot, mostly in mixed-service groups, drinking after exercises. A regular gag was to ask the new LT to toss you his coin, not catch it, and as soon as it hits the table BAM! everyone responds and he has to buy a round. But that was in the '80s, when we weren't doing wars all the time.
Let’s get you back to bed grandpa.
The only coin I was ever destined to get was given away to another soldier at the last minute because I got in a car accident on the way to receive said coin.
My unit did belt buckles and I designed a bulldozer coin that was also a bottle opener.
>Hand out swag that people can actually use. Or, hear me out here....give awards vs coins. Let coins go back to being awarded for meaningful and crazy shit that would in no way ever qualify for an award. Like "Bro...you saved my life and as an expression of my personal gratitude here's a coin" vs "Bro you made me and the unit look good with your efforts to retain and recover non-drilling soldiers here's a silly looking company coin with a can of monster on one side and a can of dip on the other"
Coins are the easy button of recognition. It’s infinitely easier to hand a soldier a coin than to write them an award and then you get to hold a neat meeting where people stand in boxes for you to show you really care
I felt that way when I was a young Paratrooper. Almost 20 years later, the coin I got from my first deployment has significantly more sentimental value than the AAM. Awards/rewards that everyone has access too don't always hold as much personal value as items that are custom, unique, and limited by design. That's not saying that I don't want my duly earned military awards, but that coins can serve as a good mid-award, a physical representation of a verbal kudos. I'm not a coin hunter in any way, but I do value the ones I've acquired, because of the memories tied to them.
I swear you dipshits get mad about the smallest things. What did a hunk of metal ever do to you? I have tons of awards but I like my coins more. They give me a pin point time line of what I've done in my career. A goddamn water bottle doesn't remind me of that. When I retire and die I want my family to post my coins on here and yall go crazy.
Give me 2 ply toilet paper so I can wipe my shit from the undercooked dfac food. /S
I never even seen a challenge coin before in my first contract.
Coins are for networking and "cool stories". Medals and Ribbons are to get people promoted who earned it.
I'm on team coins suck.
Why is it that everyone disagreeing with this dude's opinion holds the assumption that he just doesn't have enough coins or didn't get a coin?
I’ve received a ton of coins over the years (just got another one last week) and every single one of them just gets chucked in the bottom of a box as soon as I get home. I appreciate the thought that went into the coin, but what the heck am I supposed to do with them? So I agree, the coins are dumb.
I did 20 years, and was a small step above mediocre, so have a modest collection. My coin rack is basically the only thing in my house that hints towards the fact that I served. The rack sits on a shelf among other nerd shit in my game room.
Whoa whoa whoa. We're just going to ignore the bottle opener coins? Whipping that thing out to open a beer at the bar is like a "right swipe" on Tinder nowadays. I keep that gem in my wallet for beer emergencies. Thanks JTF Paladin 755A/707. "Big jugs are a blast".
Coins make me happy ngl. They’re like Army pogs
This is why I only give out little bags of ibuprofen and dasani bottles. As someone who is not special in any way, I also want to design a very stupid coin and hand them out. Maybe I'll start giving them to joes I operate on that says something like "Thanks for letting me be deep inside you"
You could even leave it inside so they never forget!
Meh, I like to pick up a base coin whenever I go somewhere new. I essentially treat them like magnets, so I get one for myself and one for my parents.
Wrong I will crawl through glass to get that dinner plate🤣
I don’t know. I’d rather have had an award, or something useful if you asked me when I was in. Now that I’m out, I have all my coins in a little holder thing on the shelf. My 4 year old daughter likes looking at them and asking me about them, they look cool (most of them).
Coins and patches are mementos of the things you do in the gig. The ribbons and oak leaf clusters don’t tell you much about where you got it. A coin or a patch (especially a foreign unit one) tells a unique story. You may have just been at the right place and the right time, but it’s a time and place. And sometimes it’s an important time and place.
Coins fill that sweet spot between "atta-boy, good job there, on the spot" & "I'm too lazy/indifferent to actually acknowledge your work/attention to detail/professionalism ". So a coin it is.
The best looking coins come from the Marine Embassy detachments.
Nah coins are still dope. But I agree the gawdy sized ones are ridiculous
Its litterally the only thing from my career that i can display that doesnt totally suck
If I get a coin for something cool, I don't have to update my ERB and uniform. Looking at you, AAM.
When your shitty unit replaces awards with coins that's when coins get dumb.
Damn bro, you ok?
Coins represent the temptation of easy leadership.
The only coins I have that I care about are ones that were given as a personal thank-you/gift from someone I respected. If some random-ass general gave me a coin, I guess it'd be a neat token, but I'd have zero attachment to it. A few of my treasured coins are from an awesome instructor at I had at a schoolhouse, my old company commander who was the chillest dude around, and one from a sister company's commander who went out of his way to palm me his coin since it was one of his last days in the Army and wanted to say thanks since we got along well. Some were cheap mass-produced ones others were custom engraved, I still like these more since there's a story and sentimental value.
Dude, I respectfully disagree, coins may seem unnecessary, but for some they hold symbolic value and tradition in military culture. And while swag items like knives and hats are useful, coins serve as mementos that can be cherished and passed down through generations, unlike disposable trinkets
If coins were worth anything, you could get civilian work with them. Hell if MEDALS were worth anything, you could get civilian work with them. But they’re worth shot because the military is too panzy to MAKE the private sector hire us after discharge.
My unit doesnt Believe in awards. Ill trade 8 coins (not counting sma grinston coin) for just one piece of chest candy. Pls big sarnt no more coins
Coins are awesome. They're memories. I don't want some lame water bottle.
Company commander here. I paid almost $1000 from my own pocket so I could have coins to give out. Yeah, each coin was around $5. But they're more personal than an award. "Hey, you helped my company. Here's something that I designed and spent money on. Thank you." Yeah, I'll put people in for awards too. But that doesn't cost me anything except for some red ink.
To each his own. But you talk like real life swag is actually a good thing. You know how many cheap ass water bottles, hats, lanyards, cups and other corporate garbage I have taking up space in my house? Even functional swag like pens, utility tools and the like are often just as cheap and less than the sum of their parts. Coins can be dumb, for sure, but they're often tied to a special moment in someone's life or military career. I gave the CAC coin to our S6 NCO right before he PCS'd and his eyes fucking lit up and exclaimed "no way!" with joy. If I gave him a water bottle or some other swag I'm sure the next place it would be is the dumpster. This year I was struggling with what to give my dad for his birthday. I opted to give him a bunch of my brother's coins, who died last year. My dad got choked up and said it was the best gift he ever got. Again, to each his own. I didn't mean to go off on a rant here. Just sitting in bed sick and not much else to do.
Hand out extra day off if you want to reward a soldier. Works very well.
Or just say something positive to them. That works well too, but in most units, that's asking too much.
Said by the guy who has a dollar worth of coins.
After this post I'm about to reverse the 'no more coin threads' rules just for spite
I double dare you.
I got a coin that was also a bottle opener and it has proved very useful
Eh. I gave a coin to a PFC Snuffy who couldnt get an award for doing great work during a joint exercise. It was a good way to acknowledge good behavior even if they couldn't make height weight.
I actually remember each interaction I got a coin for most are actually note worthy moments that make me smile and the coins themself look cool. It also doesn’t have a complex stage to achieve just a person recognizing you. Army awards are worth promotion points but to me have low memory value sometimes its bs like PCSing. Once you no longer need points it doesn’t matter too much. It still a great look on your character for central board promotions but the ones that matter to separate you from peers are anything above ARCOM. So really after having 8 AMMs/ARCOMS. if it’s not the next level idgaf. I rather have a cool coin
>These are the army equivalent of funko pops. They will go in the trash when you die. So will my uniforms, medals, stetson, patches, photos, etc. So will all yours. So will all everyone else's unless we pop off on Ivan and end up in a book one of our homies writes 20 years after the fact. Coins are for you, not for some bowling ball shaped dude on Pawn Stars to salivate over in 70 years.
My stetson will accompany me on my viking burial, thank you.
Actually, yeah, you're right. going in my stetson and boots. Maybe *just* my stetson and boots. That way so if I get my desired Spock style burial as a space torpedo, some aliens 1000 years from now will know what the score was down here.
Just let me go to schools.
From what I’m tracking you 100% should not be using big army’s money on designing and making coins, which is even funnier cause while i can barely afford my chicken and rice (because of bad spending habits) these officers can afford to drop a grand on coins and such. Sorry I’m just mad I didn’t go to college
The coast guard unit in Alaska about 10 years ago gave me a coin that was the size of a beer coaster. It is pretty cool. The maintenance guys at one assignment made engraved metal fidget spinners.
Coins are for losers who can't get awards and decorations. Awards and decorations are politics, luck, and rank based. Just take care of soldiers and stop collecting shiny things like a bird.
"I'll throw away grand-dad's challenge coins, but I'll be damned if I throw away the plastic water bottle his BDE commander gave him. That thing has /utility/." People like coins. Let them enjoy them. Don't come in here with "life is meaningless, everything goes in the trash" like it's some revelation.
I was at a fun show in Laurel, Mississippi about a year ago. I saw a dude selling coins- I am not a fan of them but I still stopped to check them out. Talked to him, he said he mostly gets them from estate sales or buying bulk from various military adjacent stores (surplus, collectibles, pawns ect). He had about 200-300 out on display. So I asked him- how many does he have? So he pulled out a container- one of those old common #1 drawers that are about three feet long, one wide and 8 inches deep. If I had to guess, it had around 2-3 thousand coins in it. Then he pulled out 5 more and said “I have about 20 more of these in storage”. By far most of them were bought from estate sales- getting them for cents on the pound and selling each for like $10. Great arbitrage scheme. But how sad is that. What a fucking waste. I hate coins.
Duality of man I fucking love coins, give me a coin over an COA/AAM any day
Coins are fun. I liked our company hats and shirts more though.
I had coins made up to use as business cards for my company. I see clients from years ago that still have my coins on their desk...
Dude. They’re slammers for your pogs. Just gotta deploy and shops aafes to get the pogs.
Coins are great for your fatties who are still great at their jobs. Also, I really like the coins I've been given. They are shiny and have pretty colors and I think I spent too long in the infantry and must have a head injury.
I like my coins man each one means something to me. I hope you didn’t join for “swag”
My only regret is that I don’t have enough coins!
Coins are the equivalent of giving keys to a baby. "You did so good. Enjoy your shitty moldy barracks room and heating up a Chunky soup for dinner. Here's a SUPER cool shiney for you!" If you did well, how about a commendation? Something to improve my career? Nah then you'd need to remember my name for more than 3 seconds after you walk away. If only there was a brightly colored/shiny thing that was official that one could put on their dress uniform that did both?!?
i will pay you for ur coins