24kt Fine Gold Plated Colorized Diameter: 40mm (1.5") THE COIN SAYS, "K9 WE DO IT DOGGIE STYLE” with a graphic image portraying the metaphor on the back of the coin. On the front it has healthy panting graphic of a German Shepherd’s head encircled by the words, “MILITARY WORKING DOG HANDLER * (picture of marijuana leaf) PATROL * EXPLOSIVE * NARCOTIC (picture of bomb).” The coin is colored red and bronze. It is 1 5/8 inches in diameter, and embossed on both sides. BRIEF BACKGROUND OF MILITARY K9s: The military working dog has been around since the beginning of warfare. In 1942, the US Army had a K-9 Corps. The term K-9 comes from the phonetic term "Canine." During WWII nearly all breeds both big and little were used. The dogs served in the following capacity sentry duty, scout and patrol, message running, and mine detection (Explosives). Today, you can add the job of sniffing out narcotics. Due to different qualities needed in the dogs it was decided that the “German Shepherd” would be the working dog of choice because they could handle all types of service, climates, and be bred to meet Department of Defense (DoD) needs. The Army trained working dogs for all services initially, and then the job was passed to each respective service for a short period. But, in 1957, the DoD tasked the Air Force to purchase and train sentry dogs for the Army, Navy and Marines.
Today these military dogs are still hard at work in the pacific region, and Afghanistan and Iraq supporting Operations ENDURING FREEDOM and IRAQI FREEDOM. EACH COIN IS ENCAPSULATED IN AN ACRYLIC PROTECTIVE CASE THANKS FOR LOOKING AND HAPPY PURCHASING |