Trump Gives Presidential Challenge Coin a Makeover, and It Shows - Note for a discussion, "E Pluribus Unum? What Keeps the United States United."

By SANDRA E. GARCIA DEC. 23, 2017, New York Times [Original article contains twitter comments]

Image from article, with caption: Clockwise from left, the coins for Vice President Mike Pence, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama and President Trump

What’s big and shiny and gold and features Donald J. Trump’s name splashed across the front? No, it’s not a new development on the West Side of Manhattan. It’s the redesigned presidential challenge coin.

A custom dating back 20 years, presidential challenge coins have traditionally been handed out to service members in commemoration of special achievements and milestones. President Trump’s coin, which many saw on Friday for the first time, is unmistakably different from its predecessors.

Gone is the national motto, E pluribus unum, meaning “out of many, one.” In its place appears the president’s campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” which the administration has also used on official White House documents.

The traditional presidential seal has been replaced by an eagle looking rightward, with President Trump’s signature beneath it. Instead of holding the customary 13 arrows representing the original states, or an olive branch, the eagle is perched behind a red, white and blue shield, with 13 stars around its wings.

Many social media users expressed outrage, calling the coin “tacky” and a disgrace.

President Barack Obama’s coin, in contrast, had the presidential seal on the front and was smaller in both circumference and thickness. His name appeared on the back of the coin, above a depiction of the White House with his signature below it.

President George W. Bush’s coin had the presidential seal on the front and the White House on the flip side, with his name above it. It had no signature and was a similar size to President Obama’s.

The White House and the Republican National Committee, which said on Friday that it was paying for the coin, did not respond to emails seeking comment, but The Washington Post reported that the coin may soon be handed out to supporters and campaign donors in addition to military service members.

The banner at the bottom of the coin is designed as a rocking-horse-style base to allow it to be positioned upright. But some might say that, even without that feature, the coin already stands on its own.