2000 Medal Navajo Code Talkers Bronze 76mm

Coin Details

Description

This large 76mm bronze medal honoring the Navajo Code Talkers is the full-size version of the tribute to these legendary World War II heroes. The larger format provides substantially more space for detailed imagery and inscriptions, allowing the engraver to develop the Navajo Code Talkers' story with greater artistic depth than the companion 38mm version. The 76mm (3-inch) diameter was the standard large format used by the U.S. Mint for its most important commemorative medal programs. The obverse features a detailed rendering honoring the Navajo Code Talkers program, which was one of the most closely guarded secrets of World War II. The Navajo code talkers served in every major Marine Corps assault in the Pacific from 1942 to 1945, including Guadalcanal, Tarawa, Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Major Howard Connor, signal officer of the Fifth Marine Division at Iwo Jima, later declared that without the Navajo code talkers, the Marines would never have taken the island. The code's perfect record — it was never broken by the enemy — stands as one of the most remarkable intelligence achievements in military history. The reverse presents additional commemorative elements with the expanded canvas that the 76mm format provides. The Congressional Gold Medal authorized in 2000 recognized the code talkers' contributions more than five decades after the war's end, as the program's classified status had prevented public acknowledgment for most of the intervening years. This bronze medal brought the honor to a wider audience while the gold presentation medal was awarded to the surviving original code talkers and their families.

Rarity Notes

Large 76mm bronze medal. Full-size version of the Navajo Code Talkers tribute. Available from the U.S. Mint.

Cross References

PCGS #506954; Navajo Code Talkers 76mm; Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2000