Let’s talk coin saps.

Are they a gimmick or a valuable tool?

Coin saps are actually how I first became interested in saps. Hard to believe but some countries around the world are still very cash centric with lots of coins. There is also something appealing about dual use items to me. A way to carry my coins and a way to have a defensive tool to hand? Intriguing.

Before we look at designs in a subsequent post we should deal with the elephant in the room. 

Are coin saps worth it?

Those opposed to coin saps would argue that these items are fooling no one and that if you are going to carry a sap like implement, then just carry an actual sap. Some also think that they don’t cross the effective weight threshold. These arguments are not without merit but I’ll take a stab at these two main objections.

They are too well known to be an NPE tool.

The majority of coin saps today are going to get confiscated by the TSA if you are foolish enough to try and fly with them. If saps are illegal in your locality and a police officer caught you with one – it might be tricky to convince them it is just a benign coin purse. These objects are dual use to a point but in controlled non permissive environments they are likely to be confiscated, or they could land you in legal trouble.

The thing is – not every NPE environment is the airport. There exist other environments where such a tool could be carried. A Mean Gene coin purse on your belt under a vest at a work event for example. It goes unnoticed. Whilst I understand the objection here when it comes to more professionalized NPE environments I believe there are enough grey area events or scenarios where these objects can pass without detection but offer more than just fists.

They can’t be loaded enough to be effective

A well made and balanced sap is always going to out perform a coin sap. That being said the weight threshold of effectiveness can pretty easily be crossed with a lot of coin saps. My coin saps easily reach 6-8oz without being over stuffed using US coins. Some countries also have currency that is considerably heavier than our most commonly used coin (the quarter). After training with fully loaded coin saps I believe them to be almost as effective in certain applications from certain strikes.

So why would one carry a coin sap – why do they exist?

Humans always seem to gravitate towards dual use objects. The phones in our pockets fulfill that, perhaps some reading remember the novelty also of watches with calculators or that could control TVs. Dual use items can reduce overall load and bulk in our daily carry ensemble.

In the US it must be said because of the existence of dollar bills and the use of credit cards most monetary transactions do not require coins. That is not true in other countries. Some countries are still surprisingly cash centric and the denomination of coins is higher in relative vale. Think 1 and 2 euro coins. Of course if you are using coins on a frequent basis and don’t keep your coin sap topped up it is going to be much less effective!

So in some cases if a sap is legal and you find yourself carrying and using coins these tools could be a useful option. As mentioned above the other use case relates to NPE environments where a more overt tool might not be welcome.

In terms of ruthless effectiveness certainly the end user will get the most out of a dedicated sap but for some a coin sap could figure into a rotation.