Several challenge coin stories are circulating about the origins and history of military coins.

The actual origin of the military challenge coins may never be known.

Posted below are the most popular stories about the history of the military coin.

GS-JJ.com is proud to be the World’s leading manufacturer of custom challenge coins and to be part of challenge coin history.

WWI Challenge Coins History (Most Popular)

During World War I, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in midterm to join the war. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore around his neck.

Shortly after acquiring the medallions, the pilot’s aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was immediately captured by a German patrol. In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck. In the meantime, he was taken to a small French town near the front. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped. However, he was without personal identification.

He succeeded avoided the German patrols by donning civilian attire and reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no man’s land. Eventually, he stumbled onto a French outpost. Unfortunately, saboteurs had plagued the French in the sector. They sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot’s American accent, the French thought he was a saboteur and was ready to execute him.

He had no identification to prove his allegiance, but he did have his leather pouch containing the medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners and one of his French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion. They delayed his execution long enough for him to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him, they gave him a bottle of wine.

Back at his squadron, it became a tradition to ensure that all members carried their medallions or custom made coins at all times. This was accomplished through challenge in the following manner which a challenger would ask to see the medallion. If the challenger could not provide the personalized coins or medallions, they are required to buy a drink of choice for the member who challenged them. If the challenged member is able to provide a medallion, then the challenging member is required to pay for the drink. So that is the story behind challenge coin history and traditions.

WWII Challenge Coins History

Another tradition dates to US Military personnel assigned to occupy post World War II Germany. With the exchange rate, the West German One Pfennig coin was worth only a fraction of a U.S. cent and they were generally considered not having enough value to be worth keeping unless one is broke.

Servicemen would gather for a beer anywhere. 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 provide a Pfennig, it means that he was nearly broke and if a soldier could not provide a Pfennig, it means that he had enough money to not bother saving them and have enough money to buy the next round.

Vietnam Challenge Coins History

The tradition of giving military coins dates back to Vietnam. Soldiers carry around a “lucky” weapon to help them or get away with it. At first, it was small arms ammunition, but this practice grew to much bigger and more dangerous ordnance as time wound on.

U.S. President Challenge Coins History

U.S President Custom Challenge Coins are a symbol of welcome and honor for visitors. It is a long tradition. So, do you know some custom challenge coins issued by presidents? It dates back to the 1990s.

Presidential Trump’s Custom Metal Coins are awarded for his huge contribution. In November 2016, Trump got a challenge coin from the navy force.

President Barack Obama’s coins are given out for air force soldiers by “secret handshake”.

At 3rd September 2017, President George W. Bush received an unexpected challenge coin from Marine Corps in Anbar Province, Iraq.

In a word, the military coins are a symbol of glory which deserves our memory and respect. And it’s a good idea to give honor coins like this as a proof of identity or as a gift to the military members.

Resources:

1. https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,g_auto,h_1248,w_2220/f_auto,q_auto,w_1100/v1555927978/shape/mentalfloss/challenge-coin_6.jpg
2. https://i.signaturecoins.com/i/BCv/A.png
3. https://unsplash.com/photos/quCgY3UFC9E
4. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkuaJ4YrcfcxPPrwhmIWlFOzC2Isn_Rbl6jmUSZLKaFSe7CFLN4Q&s
5. https://unsplash.com/photos/fFxgQidihO8
6. https://media.defense.gov/2012/Mar/14/2000169999/-1/-1/0/120314-F-FJ989-001.JPG

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1.   Bring Back the Precious School Memory

June is the month when the college entrance examination and graduation season take place. We always think that graduation is far away from us. However, time flies by so quickly, and we have to say goodbye even if we are not willing to. No matter where we are, just remember the memories we have together.

Therefore, personalized challenge coins will satisfy this purpose. It gives us a lifetime memory, and we can use it to share our experiences with others.

Memory fades with time. But the coin is real and timeless in your hand. It solidifies the scene at that time, leaving the emotion at that moment. People live in the memory of the past, but at the same time cherish the happiness of the present.

The lovely pictures as below are the School Coins.

2.   School Name and Logo on the Coins

Usually, the name of the school, the logo, and even the student’s name will be printed on the graduation custom metal coins. Let every coin become an exclusive gift. Cherish the medals in the future years. The advantages of coins include easy saving and carrying, eye-catching, and not easily lost.

Next, let us talk about the brand effect of graduation commemorative coins. It not only meets the needs of students’ graduation commemoration but also serves as an important channel for the brand promotion of the school, which can display the school’s features and history. For the school, this is also a big brand promotion channel.

A school with a good reputation will be a lifelong pride in graduates. Therefore, they would like to take the graduation commemorative coins as honor coins.

The following pictures are GFU Custom Silver Coins made by our company.

3. Diverse Production Processes

Custom Challenge Coins can be made in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. They can be personalized with images, photos and texts. Moreover, decorative edges, 3D graphics, cropping and various plantings are all ways to make custom coins attractive.

Something as beautiful as this has a lasting positive impact on mood apparently. Suppose you have the perfect university challenge coins on your desk, the eye-catching coins may embellish your home. Now we will share some examples with you for more details about coins made with beautiful appearance and delicate design.

3-1   The 2019 Graduation Celebrates Coins.  They are made with 99.99% pure silver so that there is much room for appreciation. In the middle of the coin, we can see an owl in flight wearing a trencher cap and holding a scroll in its claws which symbolizing graduation and fits the theme very well.

3-2  The Congratulations Graduate Class of 2019 Coins.  They will be packed in individual gift boxes so as to protect the coins. The most noteworthy is that it has an open area on the reverse side so that you can engrave student name, graduation date, school name, college or university, school motto on it.

3-3  The glittering Nato School Coins are processed with a cross-cut edge, soft enamel and polished with gold finish. The design makes the coin look high-end and much textured. The pretty appearance shines like a diamond.

After that, I’d like to say a few words to the graduates. Bid farewell to school days and start a new journey with the knowledge you obtained from the school. The time for people to get along with each other is much shorter than you think. To cherish every moment, there is no regret to leave and just look forward to the opportunity in the future to get together with your classmate again.

To sum it up, the reason why graduates like to collect graduation commemorative coins are as follows: Exclusive coins with status symbols, memories of wonderful school life and pretty coins with high-quality.

If you are interested in commemorative coins, please click on the following link to check out another blog (Learn about Ways to Honor Your Graduation) of our company.

https://www.gs-jj.com/blog/honor-graduates-challenge-coins-summer/

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Our company, GS-JJ designs and produces many kinds of custom coins with very good sales volume. You can even design your own coins on our website, GS-JJ.com.

Resources:

1. http://www.challengecoinsplus.com/tag/school-challenge-coins
2. https://www.perthmint.com/images/product/500/0-Graduation-2019-1oz-Silver-Coin-Open-Reverse.jpg
3. https://www.perthmint.com/images/product/500/0-Graduation-2019-1oz-Silver-Coin-Open-Obverse.jpg
4. https://www.silvertowne.com/p-26784-congratulations-graduate-class-of-2019-1oz-999-silver-medallion.aspx
5. https://www.challengecoin.com/new-coins/nato-school-oberammergau-coin.html

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The following pictures are Game of Thrones Custom Challenge Coins.

No.1  Brief introduction of Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is a TV drama of the medieval epic fantasy produced by the American HBO TV network. The play is adapted from the fantasy novel “The Song of Ice and Fire” by American writer George R.R. Martin. It is extremely famous all over the world because of its fascinating storyline. Game of Thrones TV series covers war and fantasy area. It can be called as epic TV.

The Game of Thrones won 12 awards in the 67th Emmy in 2015, including the best plot, director, screenwriter, male match and other awards. And then, it was selected as one of the top ten dramas of the 2016 American Film Institute. Moreover, it won the 70th Emmy Award for Best Drama in 2018.

Now the splendid TV drama has accumulated countless fans worldwide. All the audiences are looking forward to every episode updating. It has also become a hot topic everywhere.

No.2  The Homonymous Board Game

Base on the high popularity of the TV drama, a related board game also named Game of Thrones has been published in 2015. People who like Game of Thrones TV are also very interested in the homonymous game.  Game users will enter the fantasy world of George R.R. Martin. There are kings and queens, knights and noble ladies, swords and leather armor. An epic legend takes place in difficult land and dark seasons which fits the TV drama very well.

No.3  The Related Coins

Now let’s talk about the related corporate coins. As shown in the first picture, the Thrones Custom Challenge Coins are made by the antique gold finish which makes the coins look mysterious and fascinating. The printed name of the game in the middle of the coin is so attractive. And the company name of the above-mentioned Aristocrat and HBO was shown on the opposite side. This kind of distinctive design concept makes the coins as personalized challenge coins.

Here is another example of custom game coins. The following honor coins with a beautiful sakura logo are made for games like L5R LCG exclusively. The pretty appearance and exquisite design attracted many game players. Sometimes, suitable coins will even make people more interested in this game. The game and the coins are mutually reinforcing in a sense.

In conclusion, the Custom Game Coins has a strong mass base on the targeted design concept obviously. Therefore, the kind of custom made coins are easier to be accepted by the public. Actually, this kind of promotion is not only used for games but also widely used in entertainment, movies, television, sports and so on.

Our company, GS-JJ produces a lot of cheap coins with a pretty appearance and exquisite design. We can assure you that we are well experienced in this area. Many kinds of cheap coins at GS-JJ are waiting for you to choose. It’s worth mentioning that we have an automated quotation system which is very convenient.

Resources:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/661294651/l5r-metal-fate-winter-silver-sakura?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=game+coins&ref=sc_gallery-1-3&plkey=e74722f1d9fef9789d6b98e087ebc127c702df63%3A661294651

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We all know colorful items are always fresh and attract our attention, at first sight, the same as challenge coins with enamel options.

Besides die-struck challenge coins without any color, soft enamel and hard enamel coins with painted colors are popular for challenge coin design and customization.

Do you know some special shiny enamel options for custom coins? As a professional challenge coin maker, GS-JJ mainly offers metallic enamel, glitter, and glow options on coins design. All of them can make your piece unique in art!

Metallic Enamel

When we want to make enameled challenge coins, the metallic enamel option is still a great way to upgrade the appearance of coins. It will make them look delicate and shiny under the light.

The metallic enamel option mainly includes metallic gold and metallic silver, and the effect of metallic enamel is also called sandblasting. It is applied to custom coins after being plated and makes the coin’s surface seems like a matte effect, special and shiny. This option is popular and with low cost for any crafts.

Glitter enamel

The glitter makes a bright, sparkling light. When we want to give something a glittering appearance, then glitter powder may be our first choice to enamel the object.

Glitter is so dazzling and widely used in many cosmetic fields. Whether you use glitter on Ombre nails, to accent something on your clothes, or to make a pin look a little nicer, it’s a timeless look that most people love. The bling-bling nail polish process makes it a good choice if you’re trying to make something stick out and with the proper color, it can accent anything you’re wearing.

Various colors of glitter powder are available for custom coins, such as pink, blue, red, and more. The glitter enamel could give those coins a more unique and flashy look than the rest with not, with a beautiful sparkle enamel image and background to catch our eyes.

Putting glitter powder on challenge coins is an affordable and shiny way if you have a limited budget. For more information about glitter powder, CLICK HERE.

Glow enamel

Anything that can glow in the dark is so interesting and collectible.

More often, we would like to create lapel pins that glow in the dark, they have amazing effects and views under the light. Glow enamel options are available for wonderful items or any other collection, you can know it from the above picture. For more details about glowing lapel pins, CLICK HERE.

Challenge coins with glow enamel will be shiny in the dark, you can make a symbol or icon glow on both sides. This challenge coin with a glow option is indeed a unique addition to any collector.

By the way, Green light is the common glow option for us. And the glow enamel option may have a higher cost than other options, and the effect of glowing is long-lasting.

These three enamel options are popular crafts to customize challenge coins. Each option can help make our coins more unique and outstanding, choose the style you like.

The post Want More Shiny Coins, Try These Enamel Options! appeared first on GS-JJ.COM.

Obviously, Monday is not a holiday, but so many public holidays are in the United States.

The Monday (8^th, Oct.) is Columbus Day, and a three-day-long weekend happened again for all of us. It is so lucky for everyone. Do you know the reason, it’s a coincidence? Absolutely not.

You may not know, it’s not the holiday from history, but a creation by the congress. It was ruled by the Monday Holiday Act.

The Monday Holiday Act of 1968 moved Washington’s Birthday (February 22), Memorial Day (May 30), and Veterans Day (November 11) from fixed dates to designated Mondays. What’ more, it created a federal holiday–Columbus Day, part of states celebrated it on 12^th, October—it’s a Monday too.

 What are the Monday holidays this year? Look here:

Memorial Day: Last Monday in May

photo from www.veteranenergy.us

Memorial Day, is a remembrance day to remember those who have died in the United States armed forces, because of mission and service.

On that day we often prepare flowers, hold honor coins, and America flags to visit cemeteries and memorials of heroes. Especially to honor people who have defended our liberty and sacrificed in military service.

Memorial Day was on May 30 originally. It’s a fixed holiday firstly. But with that Act, it’s designated on the last Monday in May.

Columbus Day: 2nd Monday in October

As a national holiday, Columbus Day is celebrated by people in the Americas and around the world. Columbus Day is to observe Columbus’s landing in the New World and island. Usually, a coin collector would buy and customize challenge coins in memory of this big event.

On that day, October 12 in 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas and brought us to a new world. It’s a great discovery for the world.

This year, it takes place on 8th October, a Monday holiday too.

Veterans Day: 2nd Monday in November

Veterans Day is a day for us to respect and honor all military veterans, and thanks to their service and contribution to the nation and our freedom. On that day, various military challenge coins and Veterans souvenirs are to award and giveaway to heroes and their families.

On the big day, people initially prepared the celebration on November 11. In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act from 1971, the day was changed. Veterans Day was always moved to the Monday of October.

In 2018, November 11 is on Sunday again. And the holiday calendar marks Veterans Day on the second Monday, 12^th, Nov.

No matter what, we should know that the legal of Veterans Day remains on November 11. Even sometimes, Veterans Day should happen on a Saturday or Sunday, but we observe the holiday on Friday or Monday.

Washington’s Birthday: 3rd Monday in Feb.

George Washington was the 1st President of the United States, and it means a different age for America’s history. Congress established this federal holiday to honor and thanks to his contribution to his birthday each year. It was on February 22, 1732.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1968, also declared that Washington’s Birthday would be observed on the third Monday in Feb.

So as the words, Congress created Presidents’ Day, not history.

The reason why certain holidays would make on Mondays is sure that the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. But it’s more than this.

Someone says the primary reason to move holidays on Mondays is a commercial purpose. Happier Hour, more consumption. While, no matter what, let’s enjoy those Monday holidays.

The post Why So Many Public Holidays on Monday in USA appeared first on GS-JJ.COM.

And the veterans will never be forgotten we always know it. Their contribution and commitment are always in our minds. Besides, there are so many awards, badges, challenge coins and custom medals that are specially made for veterans. Especially Veteran coins mean the great honor they are proud to show and display.

Given to Express our Appreciation

Made by metal material, challenge coins for sale are more than a special token of honor to the receivers. It’s also a fashionable way to express our appreciation for scarifies they have done for our country and the warm world. All they have done we always remember, and we say “thank you” with these pieces.

We care and remember them in daily life, and related organizations are trying to help them resolve problems they met in the community and society.

Taken as Commemorative Gifts

Challenge coins for sale can be used as recognition and commemorative gifts to veterans. It represents the excellent performance of their duty and service when in active service. Each challenge coin gives heroes a priceless feeling of accomplishment and pride.

Even when they are too old to make a difference for our society, this gift can bring satisfaction and honor to them. It’s a symbol to remember their great achievements for the past and encourage them to start their new lives after military service.

Collected as Family Honor for the Generation

Some veterans are professional challenge coin collectors, try their best to collect as many as high valuable coins in life. His challenge coin collections include his honor coins and other commemorative coins which mark important occasion and events. And the collections are family pride for the young. All challenge coins for sale are a wonderful way to encourage the generation in family to fight for their own honor coins as an elder generation.

Challenge coins were originated from the Military units, and Military coins are a great honor for all brave men and women.

There are full range of challenge coins for sale for Military units, and you can design with your own logo and insignia. If you need, design your custom challenge coins for beloved Veterans here. More presentation options in finishes, colors or shapes, etc for your custom coins. Whatever your requirements are, GS-JJ can deliver quickly.

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