A NYPD Challenge Coin with Snoopy as Sherlock Hound

“Mr. Holmes, they were the footprints of a gigantic hound!”

– The Hound of the Baskervilles (HOUN)

A new Sherlockian themed challenge coin has recently appeared for sale on some major online auction websites, this time featuring Snoopy dressed as Sherlock Holmes.

This challenge coin, as well as several others recently appearing, feature a Jack Maple challenge coin. Jack Maple became New York City’s Deputy Police Commissioner for Crime Control Strategies in 1994 and developed the COMPSTAT system using computer anaylsis of statistics to track crime. Known as a sharp dresser, Maple was frequently seen wearing a Homburg hat, a bow tie and dress shoes with spats. Maple passed away on August 4, 2001 from colon cancer.

OBVERSE: (portait of Charlie Brown) (portrait of Sally Brown) (portrait of Peppermint Pattie) (portrait of Lucy Van Pelt) / (Snoopy sleeping on top of his doghouse, with Woodstock) / PEANUTS / (engraved three digit serial number)

REVERSE: JACK MAPLE / (A Homburg hat, bow tie & dress shoes with spats) / ( five stars) COMPSTAT 1994 (five stars) / (Sherlock Snoopy, in deerstalker hat and cape with a magnifying glass, with Charlie Brown and Lucy Van Pelt in front of a city backscape that features the former twin towers of the New York World Trade Center and the newer Freedom Tower, with Woodstock flying overhead) / THE CASE OF / THE LOST JACK MAPLE COIN

Irregular (dog’s paw print), 70mm tall by 75mm wide, enamel

The example we have seen has a serial number of 137. We would be interested in hearing of higher serial numbers. These coins were manufactured by Blue Unicorn, LLC.

Snoopy as Sherlock Hounds appear in the below commercial from Met Life in 1987.

This challenge coin, as do many being issued today, also has some issues with it’s design. The Peanuts characters are trademarked. Many challenge coins currently being produced feature characters from Star Wars, Hannah-Barbera cartoons, Marvel and DC Comic, to name a few. All of these are also trademarked and it appears that the rightful trademark holders are not giving approval for the use of their characters. In the next several weeks, we’ll have a post about another Sherlockian numismatic item that had to be withdrawn due to its use of a trademarked item in it’s design.