Obverse Design

Coin is in the shape of the Ranger insignia, which is a shield with four cantons. A red lightning bolt goes from the upper right canton to the lower left canton. These two cantons have a green background. The upper right canton has a "1" next to the top of the lightning bolt, designating the 1st Battalion. The upper left canton has a 12 pointed white sun on a blue background. The edging on the sun includes a central circle with the rays coming out like spokes. The lower right canton has a five pointed white star on a blue background. The 12 pointed sun is the Sun symbol from the Chinese Nationalist Flag and represents the unit's close cooperation with the Chinese forces in the China-Burma-India Theater. The five-point star represents the Star of Burma. The lightning bolt is symbolic of behind-the-lines strikes, a specialty of the Rangers. The coin has a smooth plain raised edge.
Reverse Design

The legend "RANGER EXCELLENCE" goes across the top of the coin. In the middle of the shield are three insignia going across. The first on the left appears to be a leaf or tree. The middle insignia is a reprise of the obverse ranger insignia in only, with the "1" omitted. It is the only insignia of the three which is colored. The third insignia on the right is the insignia of rank of a Command Sergeant Major. Above the middle insignia is a three part banner. The section on the left says "1ST" and "BN" on two lines. The middle section says "RANGER" in larger letters on top and "AIRBORNE" under that in smaller letters. The right section says "75TH" and "INF." on two lines. Each part of this banner has a black colored background and is outlined in red.

Below the insignia are a list of wars and battles fought by the Rangers. They appear on six lines. The top line says "DIEPPE NORTH AFRICA MYITKYINA". The second line says "SICILY ANZIO KOREA VIETNAM". The third line says "DESERT ONE GRENADA". The fourth line says "PANAMA DESERT STORM". The fifth line says "AFGANISTAN IRAG". The bottom line says "AN NASIRIYAH". The coin has a smooth plain raised edge, and a plain and smooth background.
Metal White metal. Weight 46.0 gr (about 1 5/8 oz) Size and Shape Shield shape, 45.3 mm wide by 52.5 mm high (roughly 1 3/4 inches by 2 inches).
Dates Issued Unknown, perhaps 2003.
Issuer 1st Ranger Battalion.
Mintage Unknown.
Rarity Scarce. Manufacturer Unknown. Source Plowman Collection.
Varieties

This is the only flash-style variety.

Population Count Only a few were offered for sale around 2003, none recently.
Historical Note The 1st Ranger Battalion and C Company, 3rd Battalion performed a combat parachute assault on Torrijos/Tocumen air fields during the night of December 19th and early morning of December 20th, 1989 as part of Operation Just Cause. They were known as Task Force Red - Tango. By 2:10 AM on the morning of the 20th the Rangers were successful in eliminating PDF resistance at the airport complex. They suffered a handful of casualties including PFC James William Markwell killed in action.