Obverse
"USS Leyte CV-32 United States Navy"
Reverse
"Department of the Navy" "United States of America"
Literature
This is a great looking US NAVY - USS Leyte (CV-32) commemorative challenge coin. Coin has reeded edges and is about 1 9/16" in diameter. Front side of coin is printed and colorized (black and white) while the rear side is raised lettering and gold plated. Coin is contained in an acrylic air tight holder.
USS Leyte (CV/CVA/CVS-32, AVT-10) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during and shortly after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was the first US Navy ship to bear the name. Leyte was commissioned in , too late to serve in World War II. She spent most of her career in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Mediteranian, but also saw service in the Korean War, in which she earned two battle stars. She was reclassified in the early 's as an attack carrier (CVA), then as an Antisubmarine Aircraft Carrier (CVS), and finally (after inactivation) as an aircraft transport (AVT).
Unlike most of her sister ships, Leyte received no major modernizations, and thus throughout her career retained the classic appearance of a World War II Essex-class ship. She was decommissioned in and sold for scrap in .
Remarks
ChallengeCoinsGalore made this item with help from Xiaomei Xu, China