U.S. Coast Guard One-Ounce Silver Medal

The obverse (heads) design depicts a Coast Guard national security cutter at full throttle, speeding head-on toward the viewer. The inscriptions "U.S. COAST GUARD," and the Coast Guard motto "SEMPER PARATUS," (always ready) are arced around the upper border. The hull number identifies the cutter Hamilton, named for Alexander Hamilton. The reverse (tails) design depicts two iconic symbols of the Coast Guard, a life preserver ring and the racing stripe mark, which is found on almost all Coast Guard craft. The racing stripes are depicted with a heraldic hatching tradition to indicate color, with horizontal lines indicating the color blue and vertical lines indicating red. The Coast Guard emblem, which is part of the racing stripe mark, is also in the center. Inscribed into the life preserver ring are the Coast Guard’s core values “HONOR,” “RESPECT,” and “DEVOTION TO DUTY.”