After the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Warren E. Motts, founder of Motts Military Museum, secured several artifacts from the tragedy for the museum, including the wreckage of NYC Fire Department Ladder 18, a 17-foot section of the antenna that stood atop the North Tower and two demolished police cars.

The artifacts are in temporary storage in an outbuilding at the museum in the Columbus suburb of  Groveport while funds are being raised to prepare a proper permanent exhibit. 

The Central Ohio Numismatic Association became involved in the 9/11 project after Motts spoke at the group’s 2013 Christmas banquet.  In January, the club appointed  a committee of Chris Barlow, Larry French and Gerry Tebben to look into creating a medal or challenge coin to help fund the project. French, a member of both the museum and the coin club, served as liaison, helping design the medal and selecting a mint.

After several months of discussion, CONA President Stephen E. Petty, called for a vote on the project in June.  The club decided to commission SilverTowne of Winchester, IN, to prepare an obverse die showing the fire truck being pulled from the wreckage and a reverse die featuring the museum’s logo at a total cost of $800. 

Petty said, “CONA is proud to support this effort to memorialize the 9/11 tragedy by contributing to efforts to house a fire engine destroyed at Ground Zero in NYC.  Special thanks to club members Larry French, Chris Barlow and Gerry Tebben for their perseverance in helping make this metal a reality.”

CONA member Vince Cavo, owner of Review Quality Notes, purchased the first 100 of the medals from Silvertowne. The medals arrived just before the club’s annual Labor Day weekend coin show.  Cavo sold about 60 of the enameled antique-bronze medals to CONA members at cost and donated the remainder to the museum. Cavo’s company, Review Quality Notes, reviews certified notes and stickers them, much like CAC does for coins.

The antique-finish bronze medals have enameled red, white and blue highlights and are packaged in a display box.  Barlow designed an insert card promoting the club.  It reads, in part, “CONA is proud to partner with Motts Military Museum and bring the Motts Museum Medallion Coin into ‘circulation’ for all to enjoy. Proceeds of this wonderful medallion benefit the museum’s efforts to house all 9/11 artifacts not currently displayed, including the truck on the obverse of the medallion.”

CONA also hopes the medal will attract new collectors to the hobby. The insert invites purchasers to visit the CONA website – conacoinclub.com – to learn more about collecting and the coin club.

Medals can be purchased for a $20 donation to the museum, 5075 S Hamilton Rd, Groveport, OH, 43125, or online at mottsmilitarymuseum.org.