In the spring of 2003, US and British coalition soldiers in Iraq were called upon to secure the banks in Basra, Iraq from looters. The soldiers found three forms of currency in the banks: 1) US currency that was ultimately used to inject into the Iraqi economy, 2) Iraqi paper currency that was burned (pictured at right), and 3) Iraqi coins that were melted down for scrap metal content....with one exception. A group of British soldiers led by Captain Chris McGinley & Reservist Robert Brannagan found roughly 70,000 pounds of brilliant un-circulated Iraqi coins that were decommissioned by Saddam Hussein at the end of the first Gulf War. The coins were decommissioned by Saddam because they did not have his picture on them. Captain McGinley and his men came up with a brilliant idea, and obtained all permissions necessary to auction off those coins in London and use the proceeds to rebuild an orphanage in Basra (pictured below) that had been destroyed during Saddam’s reign of terror. Saddam’s coins were sold, the orphanage in Basra was rebuilt, and the miraculous story of the coins was only just beginning....

The coins were then moved from Basra, to Kuwait, and then finally to their purchaser in London. They had been acquired by a London metals dealer and he was looking to see the entire lot. He sold them at a Hong Kong trade show to a coin dealer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. One of the Tennessee coin dealer’s sales contacts reached out to Michael Crowder, an Internet Coin entrepreneur and offered him the opportunity to buy the entire collection. Michael initially said he was not interested. Several weeks later, while Michael was out shopping with his family for their Christmas Tree for the 2004 Holiday Season, Michael got another call from the same sales contact telling Michael that the entire lot of coins had arrived in Chattanooga and he really need to see the collection. Michael thought it would be worth the 3 ½ hour trip to get a look at that many brilliant, uncirculated coins, and decided to take the ride out to the them later that week. Just in case he was interested in buying some of the coins, he took a small truck and a check with him.

While there, Michael was overwhelmed by what he saw. He had never seen such a large collection of coins, despite being a coin collector / dealer his entire life. The coins were actually in their originally mint bags in totally pristine condition. The bags actually had burn marks and bullet holes in them and Michael knew that if these coins could speak, they would be able to tell quite a story. Well, Michael is a story teller, and decided that the coins probably could “speak”. He decided right then and there that the coins could be used for good and to help benefit the wounded from our US Military that had been injured in overthrowing Saddam and helping to free the Iraqi people. The ultimate irony occurred to him – use Saddam’s money to benefit our wounded.

On the ride back home to Charlotte, Michael called a friend and potential business partner, Lane Ostrow. Michael believed that Lane would get it immediately and Lane’s other business partners were extremely dedicated to the military…one had served for 28 years in the Air Force and the other had her father, brother, and nephews all who had or were serving at the time. The idea of working on something to benefit the wounded Military would likely appeal to Lane…and so Michael invited Lane to breakfast the next day. Lane’s only questions were why are we meeting, and once he knew the coins were the reason, he wanted to know whether Saddam’s picture was on the coins, as Lane did not want to do anything that might be seen as honoring Saddam in anyway. Once Michael said they did not have his picture on them and in fact were written off because they did not, Lane was in for the breakfast.

When the pair sat down to discuss the potential project, there was immediate agreement that the company could be formed, money could be raised to purchase the entire collection of coins and other needed items, and the company would be committed to giving money to the wounded and their families. The only question at that point was how to get the money to the families…should the company commit a percentage of profits? At that point, Lane purchased a dozen different products that were being sold under the umbrella of “Tsunami Relief”. Lane called all of the companies from which he purchased product as he was trying to find out how they were structuring their gift component and disturbingly, none of them would answer the question. He was told that many times that it was none of his business and it was that time that the company founders for Products for Good determined that it would give money off the top and do it very publicly…all information would be available on the website, including the funds that were receiving the moneys. This would normally be a very difficult sell to any investor group but this group was really in the deal for all of the right reasons and wanted to see as much benefit as possible go to the families.

The next step was design products around the coins that would tell the story and properly honor the wounded and fallen. The company goal was to create a product that any Veteran or Patriot would be proud to give or receive. PFG wanted products hanging in the dens of Veterans proudly over their mantels. At that point a designer named Wendy Kraizel, was brought in to create the shadowbox design. Wendy designed a product line that displays the coins in a patriotic and high quality fashion. By using the coins as the centerpiece, in a beautifully designed frame, Wendy surrounded them by pictures, memorabilia and quotes that honor and reflect the sacrifices made by our military to protect our freedoms.

Wendy made all of the initial versions by hand, but then it was time to determine the best way to have the Patriotic Shadowboxes assembled…PFG could have had the shadowboxes assembled overseas for a pennies each, but determined that would not be in keeping with the company’s mission to do as much good as possible along the way with the coins. Products for Good chose to assemble the shadowboxes at the Cleveland Vocational Industries (CVI). CVI is a facility which provides work opportunities for mentally and physically challenged individuals with barriers to entry into the traditional workforce. The workers at CVI take tremendous pride in making a contribution and great self-satisfaction from being able to provide for themselves. Products for Good is excited and privileged to have CVI participating in the project and is thrilled to be able to create up to one hundred and fifty full-time jobs at peak production.

The four coin shadowbox and the Products for Good story have been featured on several television shows and a nationally syndicated morning radio show. Most impressive of all, the picture below shows John Borders, a wounded veteran and Products for Good beneficiary, presenting President Bush with a shadowbox. It was the very first completed shadowbox to come off the assembly line at CVI and that shadowbox now hangs in the White House and President Bush has assured us that it will be a permanent fixture in the Bush library!

The last piece of the puzzle was to find a national spokesperson to represent the project in the best way possible and PFG was excited to land Lee Greenwood for the role. Lee has been committed to the project from the beginning and has even permitted PFG to use God Bless the USA for the first time in history.

With the shadowboxes in production and retail sales being generated, and Lee Greenwood on board, Products for Good put the last piece of the story in place...creating a plan to donate over $20 million to the families of our wounded heroes! A percentage of every dollar generated from the sale of these coins (before any expenses are paid) is sent immediately to charities such as the Aleethia Foundation, Tragedy Assistance Project for Survivors (TAPS), Helping a Hero and The Gerald T. Parks Memorial Foundation. Products for Good has been fortunate to see its donation money at work, and the help it has provided to those in need. Monies donated so far have been utilized to help families of wounded warriors keep their homes through difficult times, build new homes for permanently injured soldiers so their handicap will not diminish their ability to live comfortably, and to help build a nursing home facility on a VA hospital property...just to name a few.

Products for Good has been working with syndicated radio talk show hosts John Boy and Billy, to publicize the project and get the word out on the good being done by Products for Good. Many opportunities have developed from the radio show and PFG has been able to go back on the show several times to give money away to the charities.
 
Please check out the website at www.productsforgood.com/coins to see these great shadow boxes. You can own a piece of history while helping support our troops.

www.productsforgood.com/coins