USS CALIFORNIA-SSN 781

The USS California is one of many naval vessels that have carried the name of the Golden State.  As depicted on the ship's coin, 7 of her predecessors were so named.  Most living with a memory of the battleship with the name California, recall her number: BB 44, a design from the mid-20th century which featured long barreled 16" rifles set in stacked turrets fore and aft.  The ship was designed for shore bombardments and also to withstand aerial bomb attacks(considerable antiaircraft guns were added to the later Iowa-class battleships in the late '30's and early 40's.
    The current vessel to wear the name is a nuclear powered attack submarine, numbered 781.  She is the 1st of the 8 Virginia-class submarines outfitted with the electromagnetic signature reduction system.
     She was built by Northrup Grumman at their Newport News shipyard, commissioned in 2011.  She was recently in the naval yard at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where she was replenished and crew changes were made as per routine schedules.   Her 7 sister ships continue to patrol, keeping the US Navy at a high level of readiness around the world.
       The motto of the ship is: Silentium Est Aureum- Silence is Golden.  The ship's coin features 7 design replicas of other California ships on the reverse, and a
stylized grizzly bear embracing a red,white and blue triangle
a gold sash with the state's name over a white plate with the ship's
number.  It is one of the more attractive ship's coins available in the fleet
and competes with various aircraft carriers for high honors.
     Subs like these are seldom seen: they disappear rather quickly once they leave the dock. 
Keep up the good work.