bigjarofwasps

AIR & SEA SUPPORT IRAQ MEDAL

The total number of UK troops killed while on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 has risen to 68 after the death of a soldier in the south of the country on 29 July 2007.

Of the 68, 23 died from accidents, illness, or non-combat injuries, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Hi Guys,

Found this whilst surfing the net thought it might be of interest...

United States Mint Police

Established in 1792, the United States Mint Police is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the nation. Responsible for establishing the standard "As secure as Fort Knox," our officers continue to meet that standard everyday. The U.S. Mint Police are responsible for protecting over $100 billion in Treasury and other Government assets stored in facilities located at Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; West Point, NY; Denver, CO; Fort Knox, KY; and our headquarters in Washington, DC.

Today, U.S. Mint Police Officers have the primary responsibility for protecting life and property, preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal acts, collecting and preserving evidence, making arrests, and enforcing Federal and local laws.

The United States Mint Police is the law enforcement agency responsible for the protection of the United States Treasury and the United States Mint.

The Mint Police is responsible for protecting over $100 billion in Treasury and other Government assets stored in facilities located throughout the United States. Daily, the Mint Police guards over 2,800 U.S. Mint employees, thousands of visitors and approximately $100 billion in gold, silver and coins.

Founded in 1792, the U.S. Mint Police is one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the United States. All officers of the force must be U.S. citizens. The current chief of the U.S. Mint Police is Bill Daddio (Associate Director for Protection/Chief, U.S. Mint Police).

Gordon.

Canadian Maple Dollar, recovered from the WTC

The total number of UK troops killed while on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 has risen to 67 after the death of a soldier in the south of the country on 27 July 2007.

Of the 67, 23 died from accidents, illness, or non-combat injuries, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

FINAL MINTAGE FIGURES FOR AMERICAN EAGLE BULLION

1986 ? 2006

1986 5,393,005

1987 11,442,335

1988 5,004,646

1989 5,203,327

1990 5,840,110

1991 7,191,066

1992 5,540,068

1993 6,763,762

1994 4,227,319

1995 4,672,051

1996 3,603,386

1997 4,295,004

1998 4,847,549

1999 7,408,640

2000 9,239,132

2001 9,001,711

2002 10,539,026

2003 8,495,008

2004 8,882,754

2005 8,891,025

2006 10,021,000

2007 9,028,036

2008 Jan - Sep: 12,902,500

http://bestcoin.com/us-silver-eagles-mintage.htm

Cheers Guys.

Cheers Mike, that would explain why so many marines, were issued it without any clasps, they must have been aboard ships.

Well I really hate to get off topic here but it had nothing to to do with taking a wrong turn... I'll just say that war is hell when your looking for cell phone reception

Eric

Eric, I had to think about this one for a minute, then the penny drop!!! Yes, I can well believe this type of incident happening!!!! Gordon.

Lance Corporal Timothy Flowers was killed when the Basra Palace base came under rocket or mortar attack on 21 July.

The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland, who served with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers, had been working on a vehicle when the site was hit.

Major Fabian Roberts MVO, commander of the Irish Guards Company to which L/Cpl Flowers was attached, said he was a quiet, modest man with an intellectual depth.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6910361.stm

OH Boy!!!Don't bring that one up Chris!! I was fairly good friends with Sgt. Stone and I know the REAL deal on that story .

Eric

Eric, what did Sgt Stone have to say?

Just a pawn......

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,956255,00.html

I also found this....

Jessica Lynch signed a few thousand different coins ranging from State Quarters, Silver Eagles, Commemoratives and the Westward Journey Nickels. Only 52 sets of those nickel sets exist.

The 2003 Jessica Lynch signed Silver Eagles are genuine and approximately 5,000 to 10,000, & 600 2004 Jessica Lynch Silver Eagles.

So she sat round, signing 10,000 pieces of paper.....nice they really spoiled her with that task hey!!!!

& it gets worse....

Item number: 250143799683, This it really takes the biscuit!!!!

A British soldier was killed when the Basra Palace base came under rocket or mortar attack on 21 July.

The MoD said that for operational reasons, it was not able to give details about the soldier's death.

Three RAF servicemen were killed in a mortar attack in Basra on 19 July.

They were Senior Aircraftsmen Matthew Caulwell and Peter McFerran, from 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, and Senior Aircraftsman Christopher Dunsmore, of 504 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

The men had been on a break at a base when it came under fire.

Squadron leader Jason Sutton, commanding officer of the 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, said SAC Caulwell, 22, from Birmingham, was "loyal and unfailingly dependable".

He said SAC McFerran, 24, of Flintshire, was "every inch the epitome of a regiment gunner - robust, strong, dedicated and loyal".

SAC Dunsmore, 29, from Leicester, had "put 100% into everything he did" since his attachment to the squadron last year, he added.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6909893.stm

Oh, yeah, this was about some commercial commemorative collector's coin concoction . . . .

I forgot.

To be fair, I think I`m right in thinking that the proceeds from these coins went to the Jessica Lynch Foundation, but I maybe way off?

I think the fact that her awards have now clearly been given for circumstances & deeds, that are in fact flawed, they mean nothing, and certainly devalue ones genuinely earned. I wonder has she ever worn them in public since? Is she in fact still serving?

I dont think so. I was around when we lost our one member to enemy fire. A shipmate was wounded and received the Purple Heart. I did not see him get a Bronze star though. I have seen him since and he was not wearing the BS ribbon either.

Paul

I must admit, I find the whole Bronze Star thing very confusing. I know of two guys who for sure got Bronze Stars along with their Purple Hearts, granted they were both killed in the process, so I`m not passing any comments on that. I just find the whole criteria for this award very hazy to say the least. Re Lynch`s award, I assume she wasn`t awarded it with `V` for valour? The Bronze Star certainly gets issued out en mass, but then again the same can be said of the ARCOM award. I believe that Lynch was also awarded the POW medal, again was she technically a POW, or just a wounded solider, they took into their care. Whatever the score, it all came out in the wash in the end didn`t it.

Getting back on topic, I feel these coins are total rubbish, and I certianly wouldn`t pay over the going rate for a eagle for one!!!

Guys,

Have a look at this, I`d very much like to hear your views on this Eagle,

Ebay- Item number: 330047275372

Is she still considerd to be a hero in the US, now that the trueth has come out?

SEPTEMBER 11 COINS An August 6 Wall Street Journal article put the spotlight on "September 11" coins being marketed as relics from the 2001 World Trade Center attacks. "The coins -- some gold, others platinum, but mostly silver -- were in an underground vault below 4 World Trade Center that belonged to ScotiaMocatta, the precious-metals trading unit of Bank of Nova Scotia, also known as Scotiabank. A Bank of Nova Scotia spokeswoman said a coin specialist and wholesaler approached Bank of Nova Scotia and offered to buy some of the coins from the Toronto bank. The coins are being sold in plastic coin holders emblazoned with the phrase "9-11-01 WTC Ground Zero Recovery." The bank isn't involved in the sale of the coins." "It's morbid, disgusting and shocks the senses that any individual or corporation could capitalize on the Sept. 11 tragedy in this horrid way," said Scott A. Travers..." "This is a rather extreme case of making money with the World Trade Center," said Ute Wartenberg Kagan, executive director of the American Numismatic Society..."

ScotiaBank's 12 tons of gold

ScotiaBank's 12 tons of gold and 30 million ounces of silver, buried beneath the WTC, have been recovered and are being convoyed by Brink's trucks to another location.

Three RAF servicemen were killed after encountering an "indirect fire attack" in Basra on 19 July.

Two of the men were from 1 Squadron RAF Regiment, while the other served with 504 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force.

Next of kin have been informed. The dead men have not yet been named.

Between 1920 and 1922 the British put down an Iraqi revolt costing them 40 million pounds to do so.

2003- to date, THE invasion and occupation of Iraq has cost British taxpayers more than ?4 billion, it emerged last night as a senior officer outlined plans to withdraw nearly all soldiers from the area by the summer of 2008.

Since the war began in March 2003, around ?1 billion a year has been spent on operations and equipment costs.

Cheers Guys, & we think its a mess out there now!!!!!!

A couple of years ago, when I was making the rounds of the old-time military tailors in New Delhi, asking the proprietors to dig into their back shelves for old obsolete medal ribbons that I could take off their hands, the elderly owner of one of the oldest such shops had his father visiting from the village in the shop. This gentlemen was not only VERY 'village' but looked old enough to have changed Methuselah's nappies. As his son pulled out a nice original roll of GSM 1918 ribbon, daddy recoiled in horror, asking me (in Hindi) why I wanted THAT THING. I explained as best I could, but as we got into a conversation the whole tale emerged of how he remembered this ribbon and how it was viewed in their village (in a major recruiting area in Punjab) and how that reputation -- he called it the 'ribbon of terror' -- was rooted in the terrible experiences of boys from the area in Iraq, which they described as 'worse than France, worse than Gallipoli'.

Talking that interesting conversation for what it was worth, I looked up the instructions to recruiters working the villages in the inter-war period and found in the archives the specific instructions not to wear that ribbon as it would render recruiting efforts impossible.

Hi Ed,

Many thanks for your reply. I`m really curious as to what the issue was with Iraq at the time. I must admit my history of the country isn`t all that great. Was there heavy fighting there during this period or was it disease ridden, or something, perhaps both?. Just why did they fear the place so much? I seem to remember something about the Manchester Regiment, fighting for some hill or other, but thats about it, for my knowledge of this period of history.

Gordon.

Cheers Geof, that seems a little unfair, but then again I suppose they were protecting their home land, and thus maybe it was their civic duty to assist in the fight? Just a thought. I do recall from the programme that one of the Islanders was made an Honourary Para, and was allowed to match with them on the Victory Parade threw Stanley, sorry but I don`t recall his name, but he had a huge beard and was wearing a very wooley jumper.

Thought I was right......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_Medal

Above link might be of interest?

Hi interesting thread, don`t quote me on this but I`m sure that NATO have issued a Meritous Service Medal type thing, I`ll have a dig around and see if I can confirm this.......