Camp Speicher was a major U.S. military installation located near Tikrit in northern Iraq, named after Navy pilot Lieutenant Commander Scott Speicher, who was shot down during the Gulf War. It served as one of the largest military bases in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and was a key logistics and operations hub throughout the OIF deployment era. A Leaving Speicher coin marks the end of an assignment at one of the most historically significant bases of the Iraq War.

Most OIF challenge coins carry general Operation Iraqi Freedom artwork. The Leaving Speicher coin is specific to Camp Speicher, the exact location, the specific departure, and the community of service members who were stationed at that base. Location-specific leaving coins are more collectible than generic Operation coins because they represent a precise shared experience rather than a broad campaign affiliation. For veterans who served at Speicher, this coin is a direct personal artifact.

Yes. This is described as a genuine OIF challenge coin, not a replica or civilian reproduction. It was produced and distributed as part of the leaving coin tradition that military units use to mark the end of a deployment or assignment at a specific location. Authentic military leaving coins were produced in limited quantities for the personnel at each location, making them more scarce than mass-produced commemorative coins.

Yes. At 1.75 inches in diameter, this falls within the standard size range used in the military challenge coin tradition. The challenge coin game is a military custom where any member can produce their coin to challenge others; anyone without their coin buys a round. While genuine operation coins are primarily collector and memorabilia items today, they are fully valid coins for the challenge tradition among veterans who participated in OIF.