Miami Valley Coin Club

A Coin For Luck

Claire, a good friend of his father’s, gave the young lad a gold coin for good luck. You see, this fellow was going off to the war in the Pacific in 1942. He called it his “St. Claire medal” and said he would wear it right next to his dog tags.

After an August 1943 mishap, during which he was injured, the sailor sent a letter to Claire with his thanks. He told her his good luck coin did service “above and beyond its routine duties”.

He passed the coin on to a Solomon Island’s native who helped him and his crew after the accident.

Although there was never any mention of the type of coin it was, if you study the picture below, you will probably agree that it was a $20 gold piece. This is a famous photograph of the sailor, John F. Kennedy.