USCG Station Coos Bay

USCG Station Coos Bay is a small boat station located in a small fishing community in Charleston, OR, with responsibility for the Coos River Bar, the river itself, and the waters around the river entrance, and extends from Tenmile Creek north of the river entrance about 13.5 miles to Cape Blanco south of the entrance about 38.5 miles.

Assigned at the unit are about 40-45 people trained to work together in many different ways to accomplish to deal with a variety of difficult circumstances that can arise. Wave sizes and rough sea conditions present some of the most demanding conditions faced by any unit.

The Coos River “Bar” is a sandbar located at the Pacific entrance to the river that will cause normal ocean waves to exceed 25 feet in winter. This river entrance is second in wave height only to Cape Disappointment on the Columbia River in Washington on the West Coast where the Coast Guard trains its personnel how to handle these extremely dangerous conditions.

This coin salutes USCG Station Coos Bay and all personnel who have served there. Minted in a brass alloy and given an antique finish, the coin is imbued with enamel in the bold colors of the Station Coos Bay insignia. The reverse has a picture of the lighthouse mounted in epoxy.

Struck in a brass alloy and gently brushed with an antique bronze finish, this coin is imbued with richly-colored enamel on both sides.