The challenge coin for the Trump Campaign’s private security detail Trump was sworn in, he had a sampling of his challenge coin collection displayed on a credenza behind his desk in the Oval Office, where it is visible in photographs alongside a Frederic Remington sculpture of a cowboy riding a rearing bronco. The group - which was accused of using heavy-handed tactics - produced a coin featuring the phrase “Have Gun, Will Travel.”Īfter Mr. agents and New York City police officers, jumped in on the act.

Even the campaign’s private security detail, made up of former F.B.I. Traveling aides usually kept a supply on hand to distribute to dignitaries and military and law enforcement personnel. It wasn’t long before coins bearing the campaign logo and slogan began circulating among his campaign team. That fascination grew during the presidential campaign, when he would receive coins from law enforcement and military personnel whom he encountered at stops.

Trump say he has become enthralled by challenge coins, attributing his interest to his appreciation for military traditions and might, as well as his attraction to gaudy displays of gilded excess. Trump’s aides have commissioned multiple versions of an official challenge coin, for which the president himself has reviewed several proposals, according to people familiar with the process. Another has Pope Francis on one side and the president’s face set against the White House on the other.Īnd Mr. Trump’s private Florida club, Mar-a-Lago, on the front, and the presidential seal, the White House and Air Force One on the back. His presidency has yielded more - and more elaborate - coins that are shinier, flashier and even bigger, setting off a boom for coin manufacturers, counterfeiters and collectors, with one official Trump challenge coin recently fetching $1,000 on eBay.Īmong those produced in recent months by members of a White House military unit is a coin featuring Mr.

WASHINGTON - Since Bill Clinton occupied the White House, the commemorative medallions known as challenge coins have been stately symbols of the presidency coveted by the military, law enforcement personnel and a small circle of collectors.

2018 us coins