Former Marines take their product idea to the bank

@@START_COMMENTStartFragment @@END_COMMENTLeathernecks market collectible coins for NASCAR fans  
By Tranette Ledford

Service members know the value of a coin and it has nothing to do with dollars and cents. It has to do with honor.

The ritual of exchanging coins is a military tradition, a practice that started sometime during World War I and continues today. To reward their unit members for honorable service, commanders presented them with special coins engraved with images or symbols related to the command.

Receiving a coin from a commander is an exchange that continues to be an honor. But the practice has now made its way off base.

Talk about enterprise. Retired Marine Corps Maj. Gregg Yetter left the service in 2003 and partnered with two other former service members to come up with an idea to market collectible coins to a sector of sports fans known for both their commitment to racing and their patriotism. The result SportCoin, Inc.

It’s been pretty easy to bring the concept of the coin to NASCAR fans, Yetter said. The demographics of racing fans show that most are concentrated in the Bible belt in the Southeast part of the U.S., they love racing and they tend to be very patriotic. So it’s taken off really well.

SportCoin may have its roots in the military, but Yetter said the company has benefited greatly from partner Larry Camp’s business background with NASCAR.

Larry was involved in motor sports marketing for 30 years, Yetter said. He’s been responsible for licensing and marketing and he’s extremely familiar with the drivers and teams in NASCAR.

Yetter, Camp and general manager Todd Headington, another Marine, based the business exactly where the market is North Carolina. But their products are available anywhere, and they bill the company as the online home of the collectible coin. To make it all work, they’ve come up with a two-sided marketing plan.

First, we have team coins that are like command coins, Yetter said. These are available for all the top teams and drivers like Hendrick, Petty and Joe Gibbs Racing. These are collectibles and can be purchased like T-shirts or baseball caps. The difference is that ours are hard goods. They’re solid metal, they sell for $19.95, and we’ll only mint a certain number, say 10,000 for Dale Jr. But when you compare that number to the millions of his fans, then only a small percentage are going to actually be able to own one.

In addition to the team and driver coins, SportCoin also commissions personal coins for drivers who want to be able to give them to fans selectively, in the same way commanders choose to bestow coins.

We produce personal coins that can be given the same way a commanding general or sergeant major gives a coin. They can only be obtained from the person, like Jeff Gordon or Larry McReynolds.

While most of the coins are minted for NASCAR fans, Yetter said the company has produced two personal coins for coaches, and is looking into obtaining a collegiate license in the hope of transitioning into other sports collectibles venues like major college sports.