Description Each and every day, America’s Marines face tough challenges and make sacrifices big and small to defend freedom around the world. These men and women are guided by personal conviction and the strength that comes from being part of an elite team of warriors. The “Devil Dog” legend began in World War I and has since become a well-earned description of the warrior spirit found in each and every United States Marine. As Marine history has it, enemy forces at the Battle of Belleau Wood in 1918 France saw the tenacity the Marines fought with and proclaimed that they were being attacked by “Hounds from Hell.”Since then, Marines have lived up to this hard-won description, serving on the front lines of some of the most intense battles in the history of modern warfare. The coin’s obverse displays the words “United States Marine Corps” with the Fleet Marine Force logo. The reverse shows the Marine mascot, the bulldog, encircled by the text “Always a Devil Dog” and the well-known Marine motto “Semper Fidelis.” Struck in a brass alloy and finished in antique bronze, this coin is imbued with enamel in bright colors. Each coin measures, 1 1/2 inch x 2 1/8 inch (39mm x 54mm).
