Military challenge coins have a vast array of differing names, including: unit coins, commander’s coins, military coins, award coins and more. Regardless of the name, the coin identifies its bearer as a unit member and is a symbol of pride, respect and fellowship. Today, most every military unit creates its own coin, which every member carries.
The military history of using coins or medallions for recognition or identification has many stories. In the Roman Empire, coins were presented to reward great achievements, similar to the way we use medals.
>More recently, in the 1980 Australian movie “Breaker Morant,” one tradition is illustrated that began during The Boar War, a war of independence between the British and the Colony of South Africa (1899-1902). A number of contracted soldiers of fortune were serving the British and did so valiantly, but were never honored for their valor. In one scene, the Regimental Sergeants Majors (RSMs) sneak into the tents of officers who were undeserving recipients of a medal, then cut and removed each undeserved medal from its ribbon. Later, in a ceremony before the regiment, each deserving soldier received a special handshake. In it the medallion was discreetly palmed into the hand of the recipient. A number of stories tell of similar handshake rituals in which a coin is palmed to a soldier to convey a reward for their heroism, but without the appearance of a bonus.
A widely circulated story from World War I tells of an American pilot shot down behind enemy lines in Germany near the French border. This pilot was a lucky member of a squadron in which a wealthy member had medallions struck in bronze for each squadron member. Captured by Germans, he had all personal items confiscated, except the medallion which he carried in a pouch around his neck. Escaping, he donned civilian clothing and managed to cross to France. Stumbling into a French outpost, the soldiers there did not recognize him as American, and were about to execute him as a saboteur when he showed them his medallion. It served as convincing proof. Instead of a bullet, he received wine.
During the Vietnam War, another series of stories is well reported. The elite front and behind enemy lines fighters took to a tradition of carrying one special bullet from their combat weapon, carried in the hip pocket, to use in suicide in the event of enemy capture. On R&R, while in a bar, a soldier may be challenged to show his bullet. If he could not, he would buy a round of drinks for everyone. If he did produce the bullet, his challenger bought the drinks. Such coins were personalized with control numbers and sometimes the person’s name. The challenge tradition remains in effect today, and the loss of a prized coin considered a disgrace.
So get started with the process of ordering your custom challenge coins for military, air force, navy by following our simple steps at "GETTING STARTED" section.
To choose your custom coins from our huge collection of samples please visit "SAMPLES" section.
