I recently had the pleasure of producing a custom military coin for a wonderful veteran program Operation Restoration which is offered by The Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) Indianapolis.
Operation Restoration is a weekend retreat designed to reunite couples after one of them returns from combat deployment. The program allows couples to reconnect and renew their relationship.
The weekend retreat is focused on providing a relaxing environment to cultivate self-discovery, enhanced communication and interaction as a couple. Operation Restoration is offered at no cost to qualifying combat veterans and their significant others thanks to a generous grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc.
When Tammy at the VA hospital first told me about the purpose of the coin I was so touched. This program is vital in transitioning a post deployment veteran back into the everyday relationship moments one experiences with their partner.
The custom coin was produces out of brass and features the Operation Restoration logo and core areas of focus. It features a brass swirl diamond cut edge which contrast beautifully against the shiny nickel plating. The electric sparkle texture on both sides allows the art to stay the focus. Even the tiniest detail of the grey camouflage pattern is impeccable.
Couples participating in the program will receive this coin to remind them daily of the components of a loving relationship.
Please click OPERATION RESORATION for more information on the program.
To inquire about your own custom challenge coin, lapel pin or patch, click here.
In lieu of Christmas Gifts this year Recognition Services has made a monetary donation to the Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of our dedicated customers.
“The Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) exists to honor and empower Wounded Warriors who incurred service-connected injures on or after September 11, 2001. On that date, America watched in horror as approximately 3,000 people died including hundreds of firefighters and rescue workers.
The tragic events of Sept. 11 are often the reason warriors say they felt a sense of duty to volunteer for the military.” As stated on the Wounded Warrior Project website.
These individuals chose to defend our country, and that is why we honor them.
So this Christmas we are thanking You by supporting our great country’s men and women who guard our freedom and safety.
From all of us to you, Merry Christmas!
To learn more about the Wounded Warrior Project™ (WWP) visit: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Found in: Challenge Coins, Military Patch, Masonic Lapel Pin, Lions Club Pin
The Naval Special Warfare Group has been in the news a lot lately for their heroic deeds and sacrifices seen around the world. On May 2, 2011 a group of the elite Navy Seals, a division of under Naval Special Warfare Command, eliminated Osama Bin Laden which thrust the NSWC into the spotlight as the upper echelon of the armed forces. The world also watched the tragedy of August 6, 2011 when a helicopter crash killed 17 Navy Seals, as well as 8 American and 8 Afghan operatives. In between these events we were called upon to create a custom challenge coin for the families of the NSWC members stationed in Virginia Beach. The Virginia Beach outpost of the Naval Special Warfare Command just so happened to be where the families of many fallen soldiers of the August incident lived.
It was a very sobering feeling knowing that just a few weeks before these challenge coins were delivered to the Virginia Beach area that these families were filled with pride for what the Seals had accomplished. Yet soon after receiving these pocket tokens these families would be filled grief over the loss of their fallen family members. The coin reads simply "We Also Serve" and outlines the figure of a mother holding an infant, and a little boy saluting the American flag. The message is simple and powerful, our military families truly serve behind the scenes.
As much as we as a nation have thanked the troops in all branches of the military for their valiant support and service, I want to take a minute to say thank you to all of the military families out there that also serve. Thank you for being a support to our heroes. Thank you to the spouses that endure sleepless nights for the sake of our freedom. Thank you to the parents of these brave men and women for raising such courageous pillars of humanity. Finally, thank you to the children of these men and women for carrying the spirit of bravery and justice into generations to come.
If you have taken the time to read this post, I strongly encourage you to leave a message of inspiration to not just the families of the NSWC, but to all families of service men and women so that they might see how much we appreciate them as well.
Every month we produce dozens of styles of custom challenge coins, and while each has their own unique story and design, there are a few challenge coins that stand out above the rest. We recently had the opportunity to work with a police officer out in Albuquerque who was also retired Navy. Dave wanted a custom coin that would symbolize his Navy pride and tell a story of Navy tradition. He wanted to make sure this coin stood above the rest in terms of size and uniqueness, and his idea of going above and beyond the conventional round coin idea ended up paying off great. By shaping the mold of the coin to mimic the seal for the United States Navy Recruiting Command logo we were able to create something truly unique and collectible.
It's this level of uniqueness and creativity that we love to work with. To create a visually striking custom piece that is the center piece of any collection is what we strive for. We are always eager to see the most unique coin in your collection as well so leave a comment and tell us what the most striking coin is in your collection, and how you came to own it.
If you are in the market for a unique
military challenge coin then look no further.
A few months ago I was reading through one of our publications, S.W.A.T. Magazine, and I ran into an article about one of our newer customers. If you’re in the law enforcement / military field, then you should know the name Tony Blauer is synonymous with combat training. We were thrilled when Tony asked us to create a custom embroidered patch and custom coin for his company’s promotional use. If you’re looking for some top notch combat training you can learn more here about Tony and his highly effective S.P.E.A.R. system. Make sure to attend a seminar and see if you can snag one of his company’s custom coins or custom patches. They are sure to fit in nicely with your other military challenge coin and police challenge coin collections.
Custom military patches and challenge coins complement one another nicely. Custom patches are a very visible part of all military uniforms as they help identify a particular unit or squadron. Custom military patches are also used to show rank as a certain achievement or rank. In addition to the military’s embroidered patches, they use challenge coins in a similar way.
Custom military challenge coins also help identify members of a particular unit and/or rank within that unit. While they cannot be directly sewn on or applied to the military uniform, you never want to be caught without your challenge coin. So essentially, they are an extension of the military uniform as both help identify that particular person.
Both custom military patches and military challenge coins are collected and traded by many. The popularity is growing as the traditions continue to build. People are now looking for very unique, custom pieces and we can help deliver both patches and coins – that is where our 30+ years of experience and free design consultation come into play!
Let us help you put together a nice complementary set of military patches and challenge coins to commemorate your service to our country.
An important piece to a great custom coin collection is the accessories. There are many ways you can show off your custom coins and protect them at the same time. One of our most popular lines of accessories are leather custom coin products.
We offer items such as a leather memobook that allows you to insert your special challenge coin right in the cover. Talk about a great way to show off your coins and keep notes on all your stories about the coin! This one is very popular among military veterans that want to hold on to their service memories for a lifetime.
We also offer a snazzy leather keyfob with custom coin insert. This a simple way to protect your coin while keeping it in a nice presentation style piece that can fit on your keychain.
No matter how you would like to present your challenge coin collection, we can help you find the accessories that suite your needs. Check out our web site for more information on all of our custom coin accessories!
We had the opportunity to create a truly unique, detailed piece for the American Snipers 
organization. You may be wondering who exactly makes up the American Snipers. Here is a segment from their Web site, AmericanSnipers.org, with all the basic info:
American Snipers are active and recently retired law enforcement snipers, as well as snipers from various military branches. We are a tight-knit group that believes strongly in supporting our brothers that are deployed to the front lines. In return for that support, they then pass their gained knowledge to us upon their return. We work hard and believe in our missions. We train hard so that when the time comes, we can accomplish our missions to the fullest of our abilities. We are the ones putting our lives on the line to help keep this great country safe and free from terrorism. We are your sons, your brothers, your husbands, your fathers, as well as your friends.
A big part of keeping the American Snipers organization active is fundraising. In order to do that, American Snipers’ members participate in events at trade shows, law enforcement and military conferences, shooting events and other competitions across the country. But one other key piece to the American Snipers’ efforts are the custom patches and custom challenge coins. Each year AmericanSnipers.org releases a commemorative coin for that calendar year. For 2010 we helped American Snipers create the "Skull" coin, in the shape of a skull, which has a bullet hole through it. That coin is pictured below and you can order this coin on the American Snipers Web site here.
We look forward to creating the 2011 custom challenge coin for the American Snipers as well!
Challenge coins are often used by police and military to certify unit members. These
custom coins have been called different names over the years such as unit coins or commander coins. The importance of these coins does not lie in the name; it lies in what they represent. To many, these coins stand for hard work, friendships and memories. A specific memory or set of memories are typically associated with each unit’s
custom challenge coin set and the coins help ensure the memories are not lost. We have touched
briefly on the
history of challenge coins with our video blog post and
When Where and Why Challenge Coin post, but let’s take a closer look into the full history today.
There are several different stories on how the
challenge coin originated, but one of the most commonly held views is that the tradition began in the United States Army Air Service. Air Warefare was still relatively new during World War I and most aircrafts were manned by people from an “everyday” walk of life. A wealthier lieutenant ordered small bronze medallions or coins which he gave to other pilots in his squadron to serve as a keepsake of their service together. The custom coin was gold-plated with the squadron’s insignia or logo. One of the pilots was so appreciative of the coin that he put it around his neck in a leather pouch to keep it safe.
The story continues that this pilot’s aircraft was heavily damaged during the war and he was forced to land behind enemy lines. He was captured by the Germans and they took all of his belongings except for the challenge coin he wore around his neck. He was able to escape from the Germans and eventually made contact with French patrol. The French had mistaken him for a German due to the civilian outfit he was wearing as part of his escape from German capture. The French captors were prepared to execute the pilot as he was unable to identify himself. He finally thought to present the coin to the Frenchmen in hopes to confirm his identity. One of the Frenchmen recognized the insignia or logo on the coin and the pilot was able to safely return to his squadron.
Once the pilot returned to his squadron, it quickly became tradition for all members to carry their coin at all times. Other members of the squad would challenge each other to produce their coin. If the coin could not be produced, the challenger was owed a drink by the other member. (revised from Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challenge_coin)
The tradition continues to grow and there are several rules of the “challenge” that exist among the coin’s history. The one thing that will stay consistent among all stories is the amount of pride members take in their coins and all the memories associated with them.
We provide custom challenge coin packaging and accessories for all of your challenge coin needs. Check out our challenge coin & medals web page for more information.
We discussed the
history of challenge coins in an earlier blog post, but today we would like to share a video from NBC. This video briefly describes the history of the military challenge coin and showcases a few sample custom challenge coin collections from military personal as well as Brian Williams’ collection. Check out the video below and remember - do not ever get caught without your challenge coin… or drinks are on you!
Custom coins are often created to honor those injured or killed in the line of duty. The Jason Fishburn story is an example of how custom military coins or a police challenge coin can mean so much to an individual.
Jason Fishburn was an Indianapolis police officer that was shot during a run in with a murder suspect in July of 2008 while serving a warrant for arrest. During the chase, Fishburn was wounded twice – once in the chest and once in the head. Fishburn was able to survive the wounds during his time at Wishard Hospital. All during his recovery he was surrounded by family and fellow officers offering their prayers and support.
As you can imagine, many people were affected by the story of this young and brave police officer. His dad, Dennis Fishburn, spoke often asking for prayer for this son’s recovery. Several other police officers, both on a local and larger scale, were affected by the news as well. Sargeant Jeff Baker, an ILEETA member and a Federal Law Enforcement Training Accreditation (FLETA) certified police instructor wrote an article for LawOffice.com entitled
Jason Fishburn is in All of Us which gives great insight into how many people, including fellow officers, were feeling at the time.
Custom police coins were created by us to remember the courage displayed by Jason Fishburn in the line of duty. His story is one that will continue to live on and be remembered among officers with the custom coin serving as a reminder.
Challenge coins have become a popular item for all branches of the military, service clubs, organizations and departments. The challenge coin has a long tradition of symbolizing unity and providing recognition for fellow members.
“Coining” began in the ancient Roman army, where coins were presented as rewards. The history of the challenge coin dates back to the U.S. military in World War II. There are other undocumented stories of military coins in the early 1900’s, but we’ll focus on Soldiers Magazine’s version from their August 1994 issue.
In the early 1940s, a soldier in the 11th Special Forces Group (SFG), over-stamped some old coins with their emblem, and then gave them to unit members. The 10th SFG was the first to mint their own Special Forces challenge coin and remained the only unit with its own Army challenge coin until the 1980’s.
The military challenge coin tradition carries on today, but now almost every military unit creates its own custom challenge coin which every member carries. It identifies the soldier, sailor, airmen or Marine as a unit member and is a symbol of pride, respect and fellowship. Their revered symbols and mottos capture in metal the essence of their affiliation and fierce pride.
It is fascinating to watch a single batch of Special Forces challenge coins spread over the years to many different custom military coins, including Air Force challenge coins, Marine challenge coins, Navy challenge coins and USMC challenge coins. Even police departments, fire departments, service organizations, local clubs, universities, motorcycle clubs and poker tournaments now use custom coins. Not only are challenge coins a great fundraising tool and morale builder; they still provide the same recognition and appreciation they did in the Roman times.
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