The Defense Forensic Science Center Challenge Coin

“… meeting him occasionally in the laboratory.”

– A Study in Scarlet (STUD)

We have discussed challenge coins, featuring Mickey Mouse in a deerstalker outfit, from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory before in these posts. Four times, as a matter of fact. We now have a fifth challenge coin from the labs, courtesy of the Defense Forensic Science Center.

We learn from the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command’s website that:

On November 13, 2013 HQUSACIDC Permanent Order 317-1 redesignated the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, known as the USACIL, to the Defense Forensic Science Center. The Defense Forensic Science Center’s mission is to provide full-service forensic support (traditional, expeditionary and reachback) to Army and Department of Defense entities worldwide; to provide specialized forensic training and research capabilities; serve as executive agent for DoD Convicted Offender DNA Databasing Program; and to provide forensic support to other federal departments and agencies when appropriate.

The Defense Forensic Science Center, known as the DFSC, is the DoD’s premier forensic center. Located on the Gillem Enclave in Forest Park, Georgia, its subordinate units are the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory (USACIL), the Forensic Exploitation Directorate (FXD) and the Office of Quality Initiatives and Training (OQIT).

This statement helps us to narrow down that these challenge coins would have been manufactured in the last 6 years.

OBVERSE: U.S. ARMY CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION / (image of Mickey Mouse with deerstalker and magnifying glass, superimposed a large footprint, within a circle of footprints) / LABORATORY

REVERSE: ·DEFENSE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER · / (seal of the center)

45mm, Round, Enamel

If one were to compare the obverse die of this challenge coin to the other three challenge coins issued by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, this obverse is slightly different than the previous three challenge coins. The difference is obvious when comparing the footprints around the border of the central design.

We speculated when we reported on the second variety that there was indications there could be multiple challenge coins for the Laboratory and it seems that prediction was sound. It will be interesting to see if any others appear in the near future.