They did not "ring" when slapped on the bar like the REAL coins. A soldier would forage far and wide to procure a coin if they did not have one. MAJ Harrington traveled back to Ethiopia to procure more coins and during one of his forays in 1969, found a Maria Theresa dollar counterstroke with an Islamic moon bearing the Arabic letters "Jah-rah-ha" (he who cuts/surgeon or doctor). Jim procured as many as possible and these became the most coveted coins of all.
Also, in 1966, a coin with a Special Forces soldier (looking like Barry Sadler on the cover of the album "The Ballad of the Green Beret" appeared, but there is little information available as to its provenance.
According to Roxanne Merritt, curator of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, N.C., A member of the 11th Special Forces Group took old coins, had them over stamped with a different emblem, then presented them to unit members.
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