Air Force veteran builds on change

Like many military men and women, Ted Oakley had been “coined” — slipped a coin during a handshake with a superior for a job well done — many times during his service as an Air Force special agent.

But Oakley got bored with the traditional flat wooden display case that most people use to show off their medals and tokens that represent accomplishments. Surely, Oakley thought, he wasn’t the only one who wanted an alternative.

Turns out he was right.

Finding nothing like he was envisioning, Oakley set out to create his own product — even though he didn’t know anything about inventions or starting a small business. He was trained to investigate such hard-core crimes as rape, homicide, espionage, narcotics and subversion, not to design and sell something.

But the idea of bringing an innovation to market intrigued him. Oakley’s parents had owned a floral shop when he was growing up, so he knew what the entrepreneurial spirit felt like.

Near the end of 2006, he started toying with a different kind of coin holder. A pyramid seemed more appealing than a thin rectangle.

“The pyramid is one of the strongest structures, so the design represents the strength of the military,” Oakley said.

It took a year for him to learn about starting his own company, patenting his product, designing a website and packaging and shipping his coin holder, called the Stratcoin display. In January 2008, he launched his company, Coinsation, as a coin-display designer, manufacturer, supplier and retailer.

Made of plastic injection molding, the display holds 22 coins and features an area to place a military-service sticker, business cards or an engraved brass plate. Sales have been steadily increasing, Oakley said — about 800 units in the first year of operation, roughly 900 in 2009 and projecting well over 1,000 for this year.

The cases have been popular for home and office display; many are purchased as gifts for a promotion or retirement, Oakley said.

Parents of about 120 Air Force Academy cadets in the class of 2011 recently bought the display cases.

“I felt this was an excellent yet quite affordable way for cadets to display their coins while at the Air Force Academy. When I presented the idea to the parents, they were eager to purchase them as part of our ‘parent spirit mission’ to acknowledge our cadets upon completion of recognition — quite a big deal,” said Cheryl Hillman, who spearheaded the purchase and is the immediate past president of the U.S. Air Force Academy Parents Club of Eastern Michigan.

Hillman said that while looking for gift ideas, she found other display cases that were less unusual and double the price.

“Cadets are limited in what they can have on their desks and are not allowed to place anything on the walls of their dorm space. These are two of the most important reasons this desktop pyramid-shaped coin holder was selected,” she said.

Coinsation is still a one-man shop, except for when Oakley’s three sons help fill orders. Oakley is now courting the poker industry and coin collectors for sales because the unit also fits poker chips and minted coins.

Life has changed dramatically for Oakley since he started Coinsation. He had to take medical retirement from the Air Force later in 2008 because of complications from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. At age 40, he’s now a disabled veteran and a cancer survivor.

Oakley and his wife relocated from San Antonio, Texas, to Colorado Springs about nine months ago. She is active-duty and works in the medical field at the Air Force Academy. Oakley got a civilian job with a Department of Defense contractor, and his work supports the mission of the Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base.

The Coinsation business has become even more meaningful since Oakley’s honorable discharge after 13 years of service. Coinsation is a way for him to stay connected to military personnel, as they become customers.

“I felt I was cut short of something I loved. Military are brethren, and you have a sense of belonging to something that’s honorable,” he said.

That’s why Oakley adopted the Air Force’s core values of integrity, service and excellence as the motto for his business.

“It’s not about the money per se, but that I enjoy giving back and love still being part of the military,” he said.