TRIVIA: Challenge Coins

CHALLENGE COINS​

Every once in a while a concept catches the hearts and minds of people so much it ushers in a new era.​

The concept of Challenge Coins is one of those phenomenal events. Before I introduce you to Challenge Coin photos please let me explain what a Challenge Coin is, and how they came to be.

Challenge Coin

"...a small coin or medallion (usually military), bearing an organization’s insignia or emblem and is carried by the organization’s members. They are given to prove membership when challenged and to enhance morale..."

That said, there are those numismatics who believe Challenge Coins are not coins, but medalions or medals, and therefore should be placed under the numismatic subclassification of Exunomia. Many Numismatists have one or a few and consider them coins. After you finish reading this TRIVIA post, you make up your own mind as to what a Challenge Coin is.


As to the origin of Challenge Coins, historians have nailed the advent to three possibilities:


I. The most commonly held view


A. The tradition began in the United States Army Air Service (a forerunner of the current United States Air Force.


1. Air warfare was a new phenomenon during World War I. When the army created flying squadrons they were manned with volunteer pilots from every walk of civilian life. While some of the early pilots came from working class or rural backgrounds, many were wealthy college students who withdrew from classes in the middle of the year, drawn by the adventure and romance of the new form of warfare.


There is a story which seems to back up this premis:


"As the legend goes, one such student, a wealthy lieutenant, ordered small, solid-bronze coins struck, which he then presented to the other pilots in his squadron as mementos of their service together. The coin was gold-plated, bore the squadron’s insignia, and was quite valuable. One of the pilots in the squadron, who had never owned anything like the coin, placed it in a leather pouch he wore around his neck for safekeeping. A short while later, this pilot’s aircraft was heavily damaged by ground fire (other sources claim it was an aerial dogfight), forcing him to land behind enemy lines where he was captured by the Germans. The Germans confiscated the personal belongings from his pockets, but paid no attention to the leather pouch around his neck. On his way to a stockade, he was held overnight in a small German-held French village near the front. During the night, the town was bombarded by the British, creating enough confusion to allow the pilot to escape.


The pilot avoided German patrols by donning civilian attire, but all of his identification had been confiscated so he had no way to prove his identity. With great difficulty, he crept across no-man’s land and made contact with a French patrol. Unfortunately for him, the patrol had been sent to root out German saboteurs dressed as civilians. The French mistook the American pilot for a German saboteur and immediately prepared to execute him.


Desperate to prove his alligiance and without any identification, the pilot pulled out the coin from his leather pouch and showed it to his French captors. One of the Frenchmen recognized the unit insignia on the coin and delayed the execution long enough to confirm the pilot’s identity."


Once the pilot safely returned to his squadron, it became a tradition for all members to carry their coin at all times. To ensure compliance, the pilots would challenge each other to produce the coin. If the challenged couldn’t produce the coin, he was required to buy a drink of choice for the challenger; if the challenged could produce the coin, the challenger would purchase the drink.


2. Another tradition dates to US Military personnel assigned to occupy post World War Two Germany.


"With the exchange rate in postwar Germany, the West German One Pfennig coin was worth only a fraction of a U.S. cent, and they were thus generally considered not having enough value to be worth keeping - unless one was broke. At any place where servicemen would gather for a beer, if a soldier called out "Pfennig Check" everyone had to empty their pockets to show if they were saving any West German Pfennigs. If a soldier could produce a Pfennig, - it meant that he was nearly broke, … and if a soldier could not produce a Pfennig, it meant that he had enough money to not bother saving them, - and thus enough money to buy the next round."
Would you like to see a Pfennig that circulated in post WW2 Germany and may have served as a Challenge Coin to our troops stationed there? Photos courtesy of Don's World Coin Gallery:


1948 - 1949:


http://worldcoingallery.com/countri...1 1 Pfennig (1948-1949)&query=Germany km a101

1950 to now:


http://worldcoingallery.com/countri... km105 1 Pfennig (1950+)&query=Germany km 105
3. Another supposition on the origin of Challenge Coins dates from the Vietnam war:


"Commanders gave away metal coins emblazoned with the unit crest or something similar. The main purpose of the coins was to boost morale. A tradition similar to the "short snorter" paper currency was, when going into a bar, you had to have your lucky coin or you had to buy drinks for all who did have one. So, if you went to a military bar, whipped out a challenge coin and slammed it down on the bar, those who lacked one bought the drinks! Obviously you have to be careful about this tradition... However, Commanders and units gave out coins for this and as mementos for services rendered or special occasions."


This tradition spread to other military units in all branches of service.


Note: Rules for challenging varied from unit to unit, but one constant rule applied to all units, "No challenges from one unit to another."


The Challenge Coin was to be held in high respect so there were rules applied to the care of the coin including how and where it could be kept and/or carried on the person.


To prove my point, look at this Challenge Coin which commemorates the imminent promotion of Marine Colonel Yurovich to CAG of CVW-9 (photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons):


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Challengecoins.jpg

Whether you have just one Challenge Coin or own a collection of them, you'll find yourself in good company as this next photo will prove. The photo is of a painting by Simimie Knox. Look to the right of the person in the painting and you will see that Artist Knox included a triple-rack display of Military Challenge Coins that were sitting on the credenza behind the subject. The Challenge Coins had been given to the subject by U.S. servicemembers including a unit stationed in Iraq.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton.jpg

Challenge Coins have become a tradition in all branches of the US military: Note: many of the coin photos you are about to view on the following webpages are single clickable which increases the size or brings you to a webpage featuring a photo of only that coin which also can be clicked for an enlargement. To view up to hundreds of different Challenge Coins scroll down the page. No need to click every coin to get a close-up view (unless you want to). I selected these sites for their pictures, not their prices and do not endorse any of them.


AIR FORCE:


You may want to collect all Air Force Base Challenge Coins or you may just want to collect Challenge Coins from bases in your state:


http://www.priorservice.com/airfobachco.html



Here's something "Air Force" you don't know about...


http://www.uschallengecoins.com/sto...es/u.s.-air-force/usafp108-621st-acs/dof.html



ARMY:


http://store.fortamerica.com/airforce.html



http://www.uschallengecoins.com/sto...-transportation-csm-challenge-coin.html?pop=0



COAST GUARD:


http://www.priorservice.com/coguchco.html



MARINES:


http://www.soldiercity.com/usmc-challenge-coins/c/312/lc/49



NAVY:


http://thebattlezone.com/coins/navycoins.html



NATIONAL GUARD:


http://store.fortamerica.com/nationalguard.html



http://www.montereycompany.com/coins/national-guard-coins.html



1997 MEDICAL SERVICE CORPS:


Photo courtesy Coin Page:


http://www.coinpage.com/coin-image-3004.html



JROTC & ROTC:


http://www.paradestore.com/detail.aspx?ID=559

M.I.A. & P.O.W:

Not just a coin, but...

http://cgi.ebay.com/The-all-new-POW...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2c505a81d7

You may want to read the text accompanying this photo:


http://store.fortamerica.com/powmchco.html

CHALLENGE COIN HONORING RETIRED VETERENS:

http://www.vessey5401.org/article/319/warrior-to-citizen

VETERENS OF FOREIGN WARS:


http://4heros.com/

How would you like to own one of these?


http://www.perretsarmysurplus.com/D..._Coin?osCsid=263cd92d91b85911893793773205f88b

PENTAGON:

http://store.fortamerica.com/orfoampe.html

Don't omit the Secretary-of-State Challenge Coin:


http://www.freedomfighterexchange.c...e-Coin,name,100196,auction_id,auction_details

Now that you've discovered the vast possibilities of collecting military Challenge Coins let's move on to non military Challenge Coins. Today, besides military use, challenge coins are given to members upon joining an organization, as an award to improve morale, to commemorate special occasions or to be sold as fundraisers.

You are about to be whisked to websites and webpages revealing Challenge Coins you never knew existed:


There are 19 pages to check out on this website:


http://www.mountain-skies.org/challeng.htm

Scroll down past the text on this webpage and see one of the most interesting coins bearing Miami, Florida on it:


http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_s...tors/miami_sector_fl/miami_challenge_coin.xml

The following website shows you Challenge Coins from 20 of the US Border Patrol Sectors on the first webpage alone. Click Page two for more..:


http://migrajoe.com/usbp-cc.htm

Are you ready for more surprises? Go here:


http://custom.nwtmint.com/galleries_fire.php

and here...

http://www.uschallengecoins.com/sto...402-correctional-employee-challenge-coin.html

Need a gift for that person in your life who just successfully completed his/her First Solo Flight? Check this out:


http://aviationcreation.com/firstsoloflightcoin.html

Look at these Sheriff Challenge Coins (scroll for more - click for close-up):


http://www.copshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=HILL-CB-3956

Whatever you think about Unions, here's something else to consider:

http://www.local3851.com/Store/challengecoins

http://cgi.ebay.com/IAFF-FIREFIGHTE...32807681QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0

Do you know some colleges issue Student accomplishment Challenge Coins as well as Alumni Challenge Coins?

http://custom.coinablechallengecoins.com/college_alumni_coins.html

How will you display your Challenge Coins? Here's some great ideas for single coins and multiple coin collections:


http://crafterofwood.com/Pentagon.html

http://www.sfdisplay.com/challengecoindisplaycases.aspx?gclid=COKNouGSzZ0CFQwJswodvFU0tA

http://www.diplomaframe.com/category/1245_coin_display_racks.cfm

http://www.flyingtigerssurplus.com/catalog.php?c=12&p=828&id=12

This Company offers Shadow Box Wall Displays. Scroll down to see them:


http://www.flagguys.com/coinracks.html

For large collections including non Challenge Coins...:


http://www.schoppy.com/personalized-gifts-2/display-cases/challenge-coin-display-cases

Did you enjoy this Post?


Clinker

 

Log in or Sign up to hide this ad.

Terrific post. I know several active and retired military folks who treasure their challenge coins. They make a great collection/display.

 

Some good info !
Vietnam 68-70

 

Terrific post clinker! Always a true pleasure to read and learn!

Please, do keep up the good, and hard, work!!!

 

Now those are familiar for me. The first one came out right after the 1948 currency reform, and the second one was issued after the Federal Republic of Germany had been founded in May 1949. That second type was made (for circulation) between 1950 and 1996. Of course they are not used any more, but theoretically you could still get current (euro) cash for it. The two 1 Pf pieces together would get you the equivalent of 1.5 US cents now ...

Definitely. Even though I don't think these challenge pieces count as coins.

Christian

 

US Military Challenge Coins - recent item?

I was in the US Army for a long time (1969-1997) and never heard
of "challenge coins" until sometime in the 1980's.

I am wondering if they are real, recent, or a well-designed promotion.

Does anyone know of them being used before 1980 or so?

 

I had an uncle, WWII Black Forest Purple Heart and some other chest full of stuff, that mentioned challenge coins from that era.

 

Fantastic post, Clinker. I'm retired military and my son is presently serving. I've been trying to think of ways to get him interested in collecting and he knows about challenge coins so your post/information is going straight to him!

Thanks again.

 

Hey everyone who read this post and commented:

Thanks and special "thank you" to Jello for sharing the photo...

Clinker

 

In the late 70's maybe early 80's ,I had a 1st SGT that had one made each man in his unit.great guy name Harvey Koral. that 1st time I seen one. I need to find it and post it

1967-1987 Us Army

 

To Jello:

Please do, I'd like to see it...

Clinker

 

I will as soon as I can find it.but I have a lot of my Army stuff all packed up were moving soon.but I will do my best to try and find it!:thumb:

 

Good, but don't go out of your way (I'll understand)...

Clinker

 

Hey Clinker,

After a similar post on Challenge coins a few months ago, I asked my Nephew about them (He's in the Navy). Well, he sent me one of his old ones. It is WAY cool, and coming from my Nephew, it is sentimental as well.

I'll post a pick in the next couple of days when I can get to it...

 

This one belongs to my son. He also has another one given to him by General David Petraus, but I can't find it right now.

 

To bobbeth87:

Be looking forward to to seeing it...

Clinker

 

To furham

Thanks for sharing a pic of your son's Callenge Coin, and hope to see the other one Gen. Petraus bestowed to him. He must have served America well during his military tenure. :thumb:

Clinker

 

Very nice:hail::kewl:

 

Here is the Challenge Coin my Nephew gave me when I asked him about them. It is VERY cool. It is about the size of a large size silver dollar.

 

Hex after see the new ones I feel burned All mine has on is our unit crest & motto and it brass about the size of a half dollar.
But I will still find it and post it