U.S. Secret Service : The Stories Behind Secret Service Challenge Coins

One Team, Two Missions

It may come as a surprise to learn that the Secret Service was not originally created to protect the President. The organization has been around since the end of the Civil War and was created to combat a growing problem of counterfeit currency throughout the post-war United States. In 1865 when the Secret Service was formed, some estimates have stated that half of the paper currency circulating throughout the country was counterfeit.

It was almost 30 years later when members of the Secret Service were first assigned as security detail for the President (and it wasn’t even full time). Today, the dual mission of the secret service is protecting the United States President and investigating financial crimes.

When it comes to secret service challenge coins, the designs reflect this dual mission, and while special agents may be on the same team, their coins tell very different stories.

Blurring the Line Between Currency and Custom Coins

This coin was designed for members of the Los Angeles Fraud Task Force. Since the team spends so much time working with money, it seems fitting that these coins share so much in common with the legal tender that comes out of the U.S. Mint.

It’s almost impossible to mistake one of these Secret Service challenge coins for a piece of real money, but the parallels between the design and the design of most of our nation’s currency are unmistakable and unique.

The most obvious feature is the triangular eye on the back of the coin, referencing the Eye of Providence that most people know from the back of the $1 bill. The symbol has been at the center of countless conspiracy theories, but it’s intended meaning on the $1 bill is quite clear thanks to the Latin phrase floating above it; annuit coeptis, meaning God has favored our undertaking.

The Latin phrase on these Secret Service coins is a little different. Vincit omnia veritas translates to truth conquers all.

The other design feature that this coin shares with the money we use here in the U.S. are the Roman numerals along the bottom rim. Almost all of the money that comes out of the U.S. Mint include the Roman numerals for 1776 in honor of the year we declared independence. The Roman numerals on this coin represent the year the Secret Service was founded: 1865.

Coins For the Other Side of the Secret Service

Earlier, we talked about how the Secret Service has a dual mission of protection and investigation. While the Fraud Task Force coins were designed for Secret Service agents investigating financial crimes, these Secret Service coins were created for a different kind of team within the service. Specifically, they were created for a Secret Service emergency response team.

Emergency response teams are stationed at the White House and other important areas around the capital, and their job is to provide a coordinated tactical response to any kind of threat against the President, or whomever they’ve been assigned to protect.

What’s interesting about these Secret Service challenge coins is that they have a few similar design elements as the coins created for the Los Angeles Fraud Task Force, while simultaneously telling a completely different kind of story.

The Latin phrase munire arcem translates to fortify the castle, and the Roman numerals at the base of the design represent the year the team was put together, 1996, rather than the year the Secret Service was established.

Secret Service Coins That Capture the Spirit of a Team

Not all of the Secret Service coins we help design are such clear cut examples of the two separate missions of the organization. For example, these Secret Service challenge coins designed for a field office in San Diego don’t lean toward the investigative side or the protective side of the organization.

The most important thing a challenge coin can do, no matter who it’s for, is capture the spirit of a team. The Fraud Task Force coin has a few fun references to the financial world that agents are familiar with and the emergency response team coins have a sense of character and duty akin to the elite agents tasked with protecting our nation’s leaders and foreign dignitaries.

These San Diego coins capture their own unique sense of character, representing the team working in Southern California. The old school Secret Service badge included in the design calls to mind the history of the service, while the 3D image on the back has a more unique look and feel.

When you’re creating your own coins, whether they’re for the Secret Service or any other type of team, the goal is to create something special that will tell your team’s story and honor their work. Give us a call today, and tell us about your team. Once we hear your story, we’ll help you create an unforgettable design.