When Duke approached me last Spring with the idea of creating a ‘challenge coin’ for the children of Vietnam Veterans for the Toledo Vietnam Veteran Appreciation Event, I liked it right away. He suggested using the Vietnam Memorial on the face of the coin. Sounded good, until I saw it.
It really is quite good; but I have always wondered why “they” left out an Airman? So, when Duke asked what I thought about using this memorial statue on the coin, I told him it was a good idea, if we add a jet overhead! For ‘top cover,’ as it was ‘in country.’ He agreed.
After a bit I found an F-4 in an aspect that worked for the coin. I wanted to use the F-4 as it is a Vietnam era jet. This is what the artist came up with:
The back of the coin was easy. A dragon, a fist full of bamboo and the description – and there you have it! Simple, done. And off the coin went for production. This is what we received:
It looks like ‘someone’ – a shoeclerk?” – put an F-15 on the coin! When I discovered it, it was too late to have them re-done. Crap. “Let it go, Bob…”
Shoeclerks! Grrr…..