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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;kaparthy, post: 3080824, member: 57463&quot;]Harley Bissell gave a good, succinct answer; and I tagged it for &quot;Best Answer.&quot;&nbsp; I wrote several versions of this article about the history of Challenge Coins -- more than you ever wanted to know...</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/2016/09/challenge-coins.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/2016/09/challenge-coins.html" rel="nofollow">https://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/2016/09/challenge-coins.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>I wrote it first for the Georgia Numismatic Association Newsletter back about 1996. I&nbsp; reworked it several times and did more research.</p><p><br /></p><p>Personally, I understand the people who collect them as numismatic items, but I am wary of that, as they are <b>awards</b> and it is too easy to abuse them as &quot;stolen valor.&quot; I am not talking about the true numismatist, but those who actually were awarded some and then go to eBay to get more, to trade them around, and build a rack for their desk. </p><p><br /></p><p>And I have some of those, actually, trades with &quot;battle buddies&quot; when you share a moment, and you hand over an extra and get a double in return. I got one from our Public Affairs Office that way. (I am a writer and I take snapshots of ceremonies, but the coin came from someone else near my level, not from a commander. She was just saying &quot;Thanks.&quot;) And I got an FBI coin pretty much the same way.</p><p><br /></p><p>But if I had an office and a desk with a coin rack, those two would not be on display: they are for my own room here at home. On that rack, I have a patch from Australia that I got from a guy I slept with. But, I stray from the topic...[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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