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If you’ve been in the military or worked for the Defense Department, you know what a challenge coin is. They’ve been an American military tradition for a century, meant to instill unit pride ...
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The most well-known story that the internet produced linked the challenge coin tradition back to World War I. As the U.S. started building up its Army Air Service, many men volunteered to serve. One of those men was a wealthy lieutenant who wanted to give each member of his unit a memento, so he ordered several coin-sized bronze medallions to be ma...
While that story sounds cool, Air Force Historical Research Agency archivist Barry Spink isn’t buying it. He said he’d been told in the 1990s that the tradition started in Vietnam, when an Army infantry-run bar tried to keep non-infantrymen away by forcing “outsiders” to buy drinks for the whole bar if they couldn’t prove they had been in combat. T...
Spink also sent me an article called “Coining a Tradition” that was printed in a 1994 edition of Soldiers Magazine. It offered a similar version of the Vietnam story, the World War I tale and one other option, which dates back to the early 1960s: “A member of the 11th Special Forces Group took old coins, had them overstamped with a different emblem...
Sep 19, 2019 · Sep 19, 2019. The Purpose of a Challenge Coin. Traditionally used in the military to represent a service member’s belonging to their chosen branch or unit, these days, challenge coins have significance in many other arenas.
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Jul 9, 2018 · Challenge coin production is an art form, combining meticulous craftsmanship with rich military history. These coins, often born from many military traditions, serve as tangible reminders of camaraderie and honor.
Not all challenge coins are passed by secret handshake, but it has become a tradition that many uphold. It could have its origins in the Second Boer War, fought between the British and South ...
In the U.S. military, the challenge coin – also known as a unit coin or commander’s coin – identifies its bearer as the member of a particular unit, and is a symbol of pride and fellowship. According to a few competing legends, the first challenge coins were used to establish identity.
Feb 15, 2023 · Challenge coins are a traditional symbol of membership in an organization or class, or participation in an event. They are symbols of a brotherhood, a fraternity that only members understand. In recent years, their uses have expanded well beyond their historical origins. History of Challenge Coins.
