Today, May 11, the United States Mint has started selling the U.S. Coast Guard Bronze Medal for $20. This medal is the bronze version of the U.S. Coast Guard Silver Medal, which is part of an Armed Forces series that honors all six branches of the U.S. military, namely the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force.
The Mint’s silver medal program comprises a 2.5-ounce and a 1-ounce silver medal for each branch. These are followed by companion bronze medals. All three types of military medals share the same designs.
The Coast Guard 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal was launched on August 17, 2021, while the 1-ounce silver version was issued on September 26, 2022. The table below shows the sales of these two medals as well as the other strikes from the program.
Armed Forces Medals
| Latest Sales | Release Dates | |
| U.S. Air Force 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal | 9,953 | Jul 13, 2021 |
| U.S. Air Force 1 Ounce Silver Medal | 16,613 | Aug 16, 2022 |
| U.S. Air Force Bronze Medal | N/A* | Nov 19, 2022 |
| U.S. Army 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal | 10,004 | Mar 6, 2023 |
| U.S. Coast Guard 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal | 9,955 | Aug 17, 2021 |
| U.S. Coast Guard 1 Ounce Silver Medal | 15,499 | Sep 26, 2022 |
| U.S. Marine Corps 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal | 9,576 | Jul 15, 2022 |
| U.S. Navy 2.5 Ounce Silver Medal | 9,985 | Mar 11, 2022 |
*The U.S. Mint does not release sales figures for bronze medals.
As shown above, the release of this Coast Guard Bronze Medal marks the product completion of two services honored: the Air Force and the Coast Guard. In addition, we have yet to see the release of any of the Space Force medals.
Mintages
It is worth noting that all issued 2.5-ounce silver medals are no longer available, with mintage caps of 10,000 apiece, while the 1-ounce silver medals and bronze medals have no mintage or sales limits.
Coast Guard Force Medal Designs
The obverse (heads side) of the new bronze medal, which was designed by Richard Masters and sculpted by Michael Gaudioso, depicts a Coast Guard national security cutter at full throttle, speeding head-on towards the viewer. The hull number on the cutter indicates that it is the Hamilton, named after Alexander Hamilton, who was instrumental in the creation of the service. Inscriptions atop the design read "U.S. COAST GUARD" along with the Coast Guard motto "SEMPER PARATUS" (Always Ready).
The reverse (tails side) of the medal was created by Thomas Hipschen with sculpting done by Renata Gordon. It depicts two iconic symbols of the Coast Guard, namely a life preserver ring and the racing stripe mark, which is found on almost all Coast Guard craft. In addition, the Coast Guard emblem is shown along with inscriptions of the Coast Guard’s core values, namely "HONOR," "RESPECT," and "DEVOTION TO DUTY."
These bronze medals have a composition of 95% copper and 5% zinc, with a diameter of 1.5 inches.
Ordering
The Coast Guard Bronze Medal is available directly from the U.S. Mint via their online store for military medals. Other Armed Forces Medals may also be found by following the same link.
