The Regimental Coin of Excellence is a challenge coin awarded to Military Police Corps members for outstanding service, professionalism and dedication, presented by MP leadership. It marks individual performance rather than unit membership, recognizing conduct such as service on the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Military Police Corps Motto: “Assist, Protect, Defend”
Every branch of the Army carries a motto that sums up its purpose in a few words, and the Military Police Corps does it in three: Assist, Protect, Defend. It appears on the coin’s obverse, banked across the coat-of-arms shield below the crossed pistols.
Each word points to a different part of the job. MPs assist commanders and civilian authorities with law enforcement, traffic control and force protection. They protect personnel, property and installations, on base and in the field. And they defend, standing ready for combat support roles alongside infantry and armor when the mission calls for it.
That range is what sets the Corps apart from most law enforcement bodies. An MP unit might run a gate checkpoint one week and provide convoy security in a combat zone the next. The motto holds both halves of that identity in one line, and it belongs on any coin built for the branch.
MPs also carry a second, more informal saying alongside the regimental motto: “Of the Troops, For the Troops,” a reminder that the Corps exists to serve the soldiers around it rather than stand apart from them.
What Is the Army Coin of Excellence?
A Coin of Excellence is a distinct category of award coin, separate from the standard unit challenge coin most soldiers carry. Where a unit coin marks membership, a Coin of Excellence marks performance. Commanders and regimental leadership present them to individual soldiers who have gone beyond the standard expectation of their role.
For the Military Police Corps, that recognition covers a wide range of duties. A soldier might receive the coin for distinguished conduct on a deployment, for exceptional performance during an inspection, or for serving as a member of the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The coin functions as both a keepsake and a quiet marker of trust from leadership.
Commander’s coins of excellence follow a similar pattern at a smaller scale, often awarded within a battalion or company rather than at the regimental level. We build both kinds, matched to whatever tier of recognition a unit wants to formalize. If your unit already has a coin of excellence tradition, we can shape a new design around it rather than starting from a blank template.
A Short History of the Military Police Corps
The MP lineage reaches back further than most people expect. In January 1776, George Washington had William Marony appointed as the first provost marshal of the Continental Army, a role built to keep order among the troops. That office came and went over the next century and a half, standing up during wartime and folding again once a conflict ended.
The coin itself carries a more recent date: September 26, 1941, struck into the reverse below the regimental crest. That marks the establishment of the modern Military Police Corps as a permanent, distinct branch of the Army, rather than a temporary wartime office.
Since 1941, MPs have carried out law enforcement, force protection and battlefield circulation control duties across every major American conflict.
We build custom Army challenge coins for units across every branch role, from military police to combat arms.
The Crossed Pistols: MP Branch Insignia
The crossed flintlock pistols are the Military Police Corps branch insignia, and they anchor both sides of this coin. On the front they sit above the coat-of-arms shield. On the back, they’re enlarged and cast in polished brass, framing the regimental lettering below them.
The pistols trace back to the Harper’s Ferry flintlock, a horseman’s sidearm issued to Army cavalry in the early 1800s, rather than any specific modern firearm. We sculpted them in raised relief on this project so they read clearly even at a glance, which matters on a coin this heavily detailed.
Most MP coin requests we get keep the crossed pistols somewhere on the design, even when the rest of the coin is built around a specific unit or event. It’s become the one element that instantly signals “military police” before anyone reads the text. We get similar requests from law enforcement challenge coins clients outside the military.
Military Police Coin Design Ideas
MP units tend to draw from a consistent set of visual elements when planning a coin, and we’ve built most of them:
- Branch insignia and unit patches worked into the coin face rather than left as an afterthought
- The MP brassard and traditional white accessories worn by military police
- Unit designations, installation names, and deployment locations
- A skull paired with an MP helmet, a design combination that shows up often in the wider MP coin community and reads as tough without losing the branch identity
- Dog tag-shaped coins, popular for retirement and deployment gifts
- Scales of justice or gavel details for units that lean into the law enforcement side of the mission
None of these require picking just one. For a look at how a related unit approached theirs, see the 14th MP Brigade coin.
About This Coin of Excellence
This particular Coin of Excellence skips the round format most challenge coins use. Instead, it’s cut to the outline of the MP Corps coat of arms, so the shape itself carries meaning before anyone reads a word on it. Getting a silhouette that clean took several rounds of mock-ups, since a shield shape this detailed has to hold its lines at coin scale without losing any of the crest’s fine points.
The crossed flintlock pistols sit oversized on the reverse, sculpted in polished brass with visible wood-grain detail on the grips. Below them, small rank insignias and unit symbols are engraved and hand-colored, with lettering identifying the coin as the U.S. Army Military Police Corps Regimental Coin of Excellence.
The engraving sits deep enough that the lettering stays legible even after years of handling, which matters for a coin meant to be carried and passed around rather than displayed and left alone.
Every element on this coin was built to match a real MP Corps identity element rather than a generic military motif. That level of detail is what separates a Coin of Excellence from a standard unit coin: it’s built to represent a specific honor, not just a unit’s name and dates.
Custom Shapes: Beyond the Round Coin
We have the technology to build a shape like this one from scratch, and virtually any shape for a challenge coin, pin, medal, custom belt buckles, or bottle opener.
Tell us what you have in mind, and our design team will put together a mock-up so you can see exactly how the final piece will look before you commit to production.
Finished Coin (Front)
Local and military police coins show how different agencies carry different missions, traditions, and symbols
Finished Coin (Back)
Symbolic military ranks and service emblems engraved over polished brass—commemorating excellence and tradition since 1941.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Army Coin of Excellence?
It’s an award coin presented by Military Police Corps leadership to soldiers who have shown outstanding service, professionalism or dedication, separate from a standard unit membership coin.
Who receives the MP Corps Regimental Coin of Excellence?
Individual soldiers recognized for distinguished conduct, such as duty as a member of the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or other significant contributions to the Corps.
What is the Military Police Corps motto?
Assist, Protect, Defend. It appears on the obverse of this coin, banked below the coat-of-arms shield.
Why does the MP insignia show crossed pistols?
Crossed flintlock pistols are the traditional Military Police Corps branch insignia, referencing the branch’s law enforcement origins.
When was the Military Police Corps established?
The coin itself is dated September 26, 1941, marking the establishment of the modern Corps as a distinct Army branch.
What is a commander’s coin of excellence?
A similar award coin presented at the battalion or company level, recognizing performance within a smaller unit rather than at the regimental level.
What goes on a military police challenge coin?
Common elements include the regimental crest, crossed pistols, unit designations, installation names and, for MP units with combat deployments, mission-specific symbols.
Can a challenge coin be made in a custom shape?
Yes. We build coins in any shape, including coat-of-arms outlines, shields and dog tags, starting with a mock-up before production.
Do MP units order coins for graduations and retirements?
Yes. Coin of excellence and unit coins are common gifts for graduations, retirements, deployments and change-of-command ceremonies.
What is the minimum order for military police coins?
Reach out through our free quote page and our team will walk you through order sizes and pricing for your unit.
More Army Projects
