The United States Mint has started selling Ghost Army bronze medals, available in 1.5-inch and 3.0-inch sizes. These medals share the same designs as the congressional gold medal honoring the Ghost Army, which consisted of soldiers from two U.S. Army units who engaged in tactical deception tactics, fooling the German army across European battlefields during World War II.
The 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Service Company, collectively known as the Ghost Army, saved thousands of lives and made a significant contribution to Allied victory. It was unique in the variety of media it employed and its ability to portray the size and movement of actual units.
As described by the U.S. Mint when it presented the medal designs, the Ghost Army employed four types of deception:
- Visual Deception: They deployed inflatable rubber tanks, trucks, artillery, and other vehicles, as well as pyrotechnic displays, to create convincing scenes for enemy observers. They also used bulldozers to create phony tank tracks.
- Sonic Deception: They played sound effects from powerful speakers to simulate the sounds of units moving and operating at night.
- Radio Deception: They sent fake messages to fool enemy intelligence officers listening in. They mimicked a radio operator’s method of sending Morse code, so that the enemy wouldn’t catch on that the real unit and its radio operator were long gone.
- Special Effects: Soldiers carried out theatrics for the benefit of enemy spies. They wore fake shoulder patches, rode in vehicles with fake bumper markings, pretended to "talk loose" at cafes, and even impersonated generals to make their deceptions more convincing.
Congress authorized the congressional gold medal on Feb. 1, 2022 (Public Law 117-85), and it was presented on March 21, 2024. The same law authorized the bronze medal duplicates.
Medal Designs
Obverses (heads side) of the medals depict the four main methods of subterfuge practiced by the Ghost Army. A telegrapher is shown keying a message in Morse code together with a soldier sewing a phony unit patch onto his uniform. In the background, a soldier stands alongside a half-track with a loudspeaker attached to it, and behind a group of soldiers carry an inflatable tank. Inscriptions include "THE GHOST ARMY," "WORLD WAR II," and "ACT OF CONGRESS 2022."
Reverses (tails side) depict the emblems of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops and the 3133rd Signal Service Company. A narrative inscription fills the field, presenting the information like a telegraph transmission, the treatment of the text reinforcing the secretive nature of the Ghost Army’s mission. The inscription reads "IN HONOR OF THE 23RD HEADQUARTERS SPECIAL TROOPS AND THE 3133RD SIGNAL SERVICE COMPANY – AKA THE GHOST ARMY – FOR GREAT COURAGE, INGENUITY – IN NORMANDY, NORTHERN FRANCE, CENTRAL EUROPE, ARDENNES-ALSACE, THE RHINELAND, PO VALLEY."
Ghost Army Bronze Medal Specifications
| 1.5-Inch Medal | 3-Inch Medal | |
| Finish: | Matte | |
| Composition: | 95% copper, 5% zinc | 90% copper, 10% zinc |
| Diameter: | 1.500 in. | 3.000 in. |
| Edge: | Plain | |
| Mint and Mint Mark: | Philadelphia Mint – N/A | |
| Privy Mark: | N/A | |
| Design: | Obverse Designer: Justin Kunz, Artistic Infusion Program Obverse Sculptor: John P. McGraw, Medallic Artist Reverse Designer: Justin Kunz, Artistic Infusion Program Reverse Sculptor: Phebe Hemphill, Medallic Artist |
|
Ordering
With prices set at $20 and $160, the pair of Ghost Army Bronze Medals can be purchased directly from the U.S. Mint through their online store for military medals.
No mintage, product or household order limits are in place.
Before there was AI! Interesting use of deception and it sounds like they were quite effective with their “charades”! Nice design! Too bad the Mint, blew up the price on these bronze medals in 2020. That has had to have, more or less, killed the demand for these products? Ironically, looking back, William T Gibbs wrote for Coin World on September 28, 2020: “There is a guaranteed way to kill a U.S. Mint program: raise prices by 400 percent.” Article title and link: “Monday Morning Brief for Sept. 28, 2020: This will kill the program” BTW he covers other years… Read more »
What I find most interesting is that the Mint’s price increase did very little to increase the resale prices of the 3-inch medals already in the marketplace (even the exact same ones). You’d think that a rising tide would raise all boats- that such a huge price increase would work in a similar way to a cap on the supply in that no one would be buying $160 3-inch medals from the Mint, but instead look for lower priced ones in the resale market. What I remember from Econ is that when the demand increases (for resale items) and the… Read more »
Where’s the “UP Arrow” when you need it? What did a former president once say? The business of government is business. Kaching!
Alright DaveSWFL and Major D, the Pizza Box, er Eagle, I mean Lion, Polar Bear, Caribou, Goose, Clock Tower and Maple Leaves have landed! Very, very nice! I really like each and every coin, although the Clock Tower is definitely #6 IMO, LOL. Probably would vote in the order above, with the Maple Leaves getting the #5 vote for mr. Securely packaged, exactly as I described previously! Awesome! DaveSWFL, I’m sure you looked under the black velvet coin holder insert for the COA? The 2017 set I received has COA 133 of 5,500! The 2018 COA is 2,310 of 5,500.… Read more »
CaliSkier, congrats on your delivery and great looking coins w coa’s! I’m completely in the dark as to my delivery status. The tracking number they gave doesn’t work.
Additional data from Paul Gilkes and Coin World, on the price increases, affecting the Bronze medal sales, for any interested. We don’t often see any sales numbers for bronze medals. So I found this interesting as there are actually some sales numbers comparisons. Title and link: “Sales fall for bronze medals after 2021 price rise”
https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/sales-fall-for-bronze-medals-after-2021-price-rise#:~:text=U.S.,that%20for%20his%20second%20term.
This is great info to see. The first time I have ever seen sales figures for any of the bronze medals.
Great subject…BUT prices have rendered USM medal’s irrelevant, moot, a non starter….PM$ maybe but this no
Major D, hopefully you received 2 e-mails from GW, with the second one announcing the shipment of your product? It should read similar as to this: “This email is to confirm that your order from Gatewest Coin Ltd. (invoice # 3XXXXX) has shipped. Your order was prepared for shipping, and will ship via via Expedited (US) from Canada- LA493XXXXXXCA .” Initially I thought the same as you. On my above example, using my phone/computer, when I double click or highlight the “LAXXXXCA” tracking number, I got a drop down that appeared, allowing one to either copy or “track shipment”. So… Read more »
Nope, my ship email said: Your order was prepared for shipping, and will ship via USPS in Pembina, North Dakota. Unfortunately, the tracking number that was provided is not valid, so I have no idea about its status. It’s been 10 days. I emailed Gatewest today, so hopefully I’ll hear something start of next week.
Cali, Thank you, thank you! I am so used to the U.S.Mint packaging the COA on top of the coins that I never thought to look UNDER the clamshell. Just like those sneaky Canadians to hide it!! My COAs are #202 and 134 I am delighted with these unique “coins”. Again, maybe the U.S.Mint could take a hint from our neighbors to the North! Regarding the bronze medals, I remember making a very nice profit flipping the Trump medals I bought before the price increase. Just another case of the Mint News Blog brotherhood calling out an opportunity for fans!!!… Read more »
DaveSWFL, I’m super stoked you caught my post about looking under the “black velvet insert” for the COA’s! AWESOME!. Those are pretty cool/novel COA numbers. I know many don’t care, but if it’s included, for some reason a lower COA number is perceived by many, to have or hold more value? Makes me feel better, as I had mentioned other MNB’ers not having a favorable experience with GW and trying to order/obtain those 2019 Canadian(10,000) Pride of 2 Nations sets.
Rick,
My Optics…..
Yes very cool! I actually went to get that one(or similar Vevor)and I got irked with them when they had an(insert price)obo, and I’ll be darned I used up all my obo offers until i ran out of offers!? Turns out they were only offering a Dollar off the darn thing!(¬_¬ )..I have heard your praise with that tool before. Anyway I went ahead and picked this one up weeks ago, just need to set it up!(lazy) Hopefully it’s as good as yours…
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256019574506
Now what really has my attention is that very nice MS Walker!!
Here’s one for you..Is it a real Note?
Rick, The digital scope is the best. The important thing is (1) don’t strain your eyes, (2) hurt your eyes, and (3) don’t damage your eyes. If you look at too many coins over too many years, the intense concentrated reflection coming back from the coin can damage the fovea macula in the back of the eye. That is why the graders use their loop for about 5 seconds per coin. Also, if you screen rolls, the digital scope is the way to go. You may want to ask Cali about that note. He’s good with currency. What is the… Read more »
Good advice and I need to take it NOW, thanks. I had major eye problems a few years ago. Both of my retinas had detached(two years apart),no minor deal there. The lazer reattachment procedure basically ruins your lens, leading to Cataract surgery. One eye is still due a new lens. One eye turned out to be 20/15(thank goodness). But the other one still due? Something like 20/400 or so. I’m currently legally blind in one eye…Scary facts for someone who has come to really enjoy coins… I think you will get an upgrade with that coin, I’ve heard of that… Read more »
I won’t buy Raw Proof Silver anything anymore if I can help it. There’s too much that can go wrong, too delicate. Impurities can ruin them. Milk spots can develop even after slabbing too, even being contaminated from the grader himself. Not to mention from the Mint..I prefer the Unc./Burnished strike on Silver and Gold–Not as shiny & fancy, but more forgiving in the long run IMO.. Take a look at this Boy Scout Proof(Reverse) below. I know it’s been struck about 14 years ago, but gee wizz. I kept it under other mint stuff(reverse facing down), in a closed… Read more »
Now look. Same coin in Unc. Same day purchase, same storage situation…Big difference in forgiveness…
Thanks for the comparison. I’ve always preferred the Unc/Burnished for the pure look of it and that they’re lower in Mint list price. I’m surprised that they’re always so much lower in mintage vs. the Proof. In time, the Unc/Burnished should be higher resale. It’s true for those 1995/96 Centennial Olympics ones.
Rick, I use to own “PCGS Registry Set Number 1” for the ASE. But I only held that position for about a year or so. One day, I pulled out my entire ASE set in 2015 and began to examine it. I noticed white milk spots on some of my coins. They weren’t there when I bought those amazing First Strike 70s and now they were. The years 2009 thru 2015 all had milk spots. I tried dipping in eLust, Linder’s, and agitating with acetone. Nothing would remove the spots – nothing. I ended up selling all of the spotted… Read more »
The attached photo is 9 of the 25 or so coins that I had to pull from my PCGS ASE Registry Set and then sell at a loss about 9 years ago. The photo was taken in 2015 for PCGS. The Royal Canadian Mint had the exact same problem and implemented “Mint Shield” back in 2018. Curious to know if the US Mint had identified or corrected their problem too.
https://www.mint.ca/en/bullion/mintshield
https://www.numismaticnews.net/archive/canada-gets-milk-spots-off-coins
E1 that’s a bad deal..Those proofs are horrible, the -S, and -W too.. Interestingly I have several of those raw, most notably the 2011 25th set. I have 4 coins at PCGS now..2 – 2011-S, and 2- 2011-P..The others I left out of my submission(higher Mintage) but show *no spots at all, clean*. I did however seal them up tight, away from the 5-coin box-almost hermetically sealed for the last 12-13 years until a month ago.. Also last night I checked a few of my 2010-W Proofs(all OGP)and are clean as opposed to my 2010 Proof commems, they are randomly… Read more »
Rick,
There are 16 more. I still have the scans. But, I will spare everyone the sadness. The coins are no longer in my possession though – liquidated. I learned my lesson. Move-on.com
Yikes Rick! Thanks for the picture. Mine are carefully “put up” and getting to them will take some work but I “hope” they’ve survived better than this picture!
Tony here’s another Boy Scout that was right next to the spotted one, same purchase & storage situation. So don’t panic yet. It may be a random thing? But disappointing to dig these out and find them like this. I think I’ll invest in some of those Intercept Shield boxes and slab sleeves for some of my favored pieces.. Speaking of which E1.. I bought a($433) Silver v75 recently(I had v75 on the brain)and even before the the decision to bid/win I saw the spots(reverse above ‘S’ up top), off center strike, and rim scuff, and bought it anyway(it is… Read more »
Maybe it’s a thing with the commems in 2010? See below for my DAVet Proof, bummer, I’m having a bad Proof day …
I pulled out a couple of my 2010 ASE Proofs and no problem, clean..Same storage box, but not the same day purchase..For some reason I bought around 10 Proof ASE’s back then on day 1, as if I was in a panic for a sellout Lol?..Mine were fresh though-not picked over by the PF-70 seekers/returners/resellers..Nowadays the Bulk Purchasers get to buy 40 coin rolls & cherry-pick & return?–Not good.
My poor little DAV Proof below…
Hey all!
Received a plain brown envelope in the mail today from the mint.
They shipped 3 flat boxes unsolicited to correct the errors from packaging.
Here is a novel idea for the mint – instead of funding your newly created DEI department (when the majority of all coins and commem’s are race and gender focused anyways and have been for years) spend some of that tax money on QC’ing your boxes and COA’s.
Here is the 2023 boxes they sent
Tony, I got some, too.
I only got one. I mean why? It’s not like they’re oak or rosewood. It’s tucked away somewhere. One day I may pair it with the actual coins. : P
For anyone interested, the 2023 Uncirculated Coin Set (23RJ) is back available on the Mint’s catalog site.
Major D, I’m sure you already saw this, however others who may have ordered, maybe did not? GW: “SHIPPING TIMES: We ship most shipments within 5 business days after payment is received and processed, but shipping times may vary due to heavy volume. Parcel Post is not the fastest method of shipping, especially from Canada to the USA. A parcel may take anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks to reach you in the USA, and up to two months elsewhere. Registered mail is usually better, with an average delivery time of about 2 weeks. Some packages to the United States… Read more »
Mine said up to 10 days to reach the post office.
Rick, any reason you think your Zimbabwean note, isn’t real? Pretty sure you have the real deal and there wouldn’t be any point in counterfeiting such a worthless note, no longer circulating IMO. Yes there were some speculators who purchased and resold for profit, however I can’t imagine that people are still purchasing for more than a novel conversation piece. I know I wouldn’t buy 1 and find it interesting that many did and probably still do??? An oddity for sure.
There is a demand for the notes. About 10 years ago I picked up 3 of the $100 trillion (the highest denomination) for about $8 in total; last I checked, these things are going for about $80 each!
(Cue snide remarks about US inflation here.)
Cali yes it’s real, I too bought it around 10 years ago like GD did as a conversation piece(Maybe $5)..I was just humoring E1 in a way like he was humoring us with his cut sheet Dollar¯\_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯… As an aside these notes posted below are very real and I’ve had enough of them already..I picked them up in 2011 after some”friends” were high and mighty on them, and that after they “revalue” soon–we would all be Rich!! I bought a Million plus($1,100 = our $) of these Iraqi Dinars back then, but have decided to let them… Read more »
Got some Shah bills.
I see both insignias were chosen. Not a bad design. I hope it does well. Well deserving recognition for those involved in this crucial work.
Major D, what the Bronze medals have working against them, is their price, as well as an unlimited, not known mintage, quality IMO(finning and more), often lack of a mintmark, in addition to a lack of declared Mint sales or reported sales. None of these help sales and IMO, actually have a detrimental affect. I ordered 3-4 of them, a little over 10(?) years ago and returned all of them due to my displeasure with the overall quality. Now with the price I’d never ever consider one of these. Doesn’t matter what the topic, theme or design is. For that… Read more »
Yes, I understand and felt the same way until I picked up some 3-inch US Mint bronze medals in a lot sale, paying less than what they sold for in 2002. The ones in sealed plastic in OGP looked quite stellar with no blemishes or toning, and the ones removed from the plastic even more so. Talk about hockey pucks or paperweights!
I made a 2nd attempt on my, “Milk Spot” post.
Apparently Coin News either doesn’t like Coin Week link(s) or the “touchy” topic of “Milk Spots”, that E1 alluded(on MNB) to??? LOL Got “Milk Spots”? If you want to read more
On the topic from Joshua McMorrow Hernandez from Coin Week, put this article title into your favorite search engine. “The Coin Analyst: Collectors Crying Over Milk-Spotted American Silver Eagles”
Major D, speaking of those 3” Bronze medals being hockey pucks or paperweights? I always had thoughts of America the Beautiful 5oz “coasters”, to keep ones beverage icy cold! Perhaps a tall glass of lemonade on a Mount Rushmore or perhaps a Bourbon on the Rocks, w/ Teddy Roosevelt? Maybe a “Wild Turkey” on the rocks, using the Kisatchie ATB coin? We are only limited by our imaginations or lack thereof.