Impact: Challenge Coin

Posted on December 20, 2008
Filed Under Collecting Thoughts

Many people miss the point of a challenge coin. In many cases it’s devalued before any consideration of what it might mean to someone. A coin can be given, received, traded, and bought. In fact these four things should be highlighted in depth to show what a challenge coin means to a person in a different situation. We need to take a moment out and truly represent the impact a coin can cause in a person’s performance or memory. We know these impacts may not be life changing but they still garnish an impact in some form. So let’s look at some examples of the challenge coin impact.

Awarding a challenge coin – When you award of give a challenge coin to another person you are in fact saying to that person they are deserving of a token of appreciation from you. This is one of the highest forms of significant recognition. For example if you are a commander of the head of an agency and you decide one day that someone is deserving of a coin you had made, you are in fact telling them you have a high regard for them. You are making a difference in that person’s performance because this one little action makes them understand you are appreciative of their performance or presence. This directly affects the immediate actions following the awarding.

So if you are looking for the right way to show your approval then coining someone is the right and proper thing to do. Many civilian agencies have noted this success in the workcenter and have driven their employees through coins. Over coining a person can have a numbing effect so using the right judgement in this process is key to keeping value in the system.

Receiving a coin – When receiving a coin you know you have made the right impression on the person giving you their coin. Accepting a coin shows you also have the appreciation of the person awarding the token to you in most cases. Many people cherish the coins the have collected through a career or lifetime. Each coin signifies an event, assignment, or person they had made an impact with. A person couldn’t possibly collect every challenge coin in the world so those that they do get are held dearly and a story can be told through each coin of how it was earned.

Let’s say a SSgt in the Army had gone out on patrol one day and reported suspicous activity around the perimeter of base X and the result was the activity was dissolved and lives were saved not only would that SSgt receive a medal depending on the magnitude of the event but he would probably receive a coin from the commander. This one event will forever be highlighted in that coin because the commander took the time to acknowledge the event and tell the SSgt what they did was important. This obviously is a general example but these things do happen and they stay with us forever.

Trading a coin – Trading a coin isn’t exactly up there with receiving or giving but it still makes a connection between fellow collectors. Without this many people would be left with solitude in their limited collection. This garners the masses with coins that were unavailable to collector’s around the globe. Trading is a great tool to collect what you want in a specific field. Trading also gives validity in making a hobby possible because the coins mean something to someone else. Without this vehicle many would have no way to add to their collections and build a hobby out of it all.

If I for example traded a police coin that I may have gotten along a career for a coin from another police station across the country not only did I make another contact but possibly a friend, a new avenue for future coins, and both parties now added something new to their collections. This is how a passion for challenge coins grow.

Challenge coins that are bought – Many have a distinct disgust for this and many have a love for this method of building a collection. Buying challenge coins can be the only means for a person to collect a coin they never could of attained though other methods. In today’s hobby there are coins available that are breath taking but are not given, or even traded. If you want the top tier of coins in most cases buying is the only way.

Let’s take for example someone that was medically disqualified from joining any branch of the military but had a true love for what those that serve and what they do each and everyday. This person can only feel connected to those that they once tried to serve with through by reading books, watching the news, attending events, or buying coins marking a units events. Sure they didn’t serve or earn their coins but the unwavering support is shown by their collections. They amass coins others see as undeserving and is generally unfair to someone that never had the opportunity. This can be viewed as a true sign of support through personal satisfaction of collecting.

So after looking at several areas of a coins existence it’s easy to see how a coin can impact someone. They are special to many people and are more than just a design on metal. There is passion in this hobby and real meaning to real people. If you still don’t think so then just ask a collector.

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