Hello all, today I would like to tell the community about a different type of coin in the world call a "Challenge Coin."
These coins are not made from silver of gold, but some are made from copper and there is a collectors market for them. These coins range from simple designs to extremely detailed and are often accented with the precious metals we have come to love.
Challenge Coins are used by the military, police departments, fire departments and member in the higher levels of government. Most of these coins depict the unit, division, department or organization one is associated. Some are even personal, like those of a General, or Congressional coins for Senators and Representatives, right up to the President!
These coins can be given as tokens for a job well done by a commanding officer or for taking part in special event where their unit was involved. But, they all hold a special meaning.
I was made aware of them by a good friend who is now a retired police officer who was a Sargent 2 supervisor in the Special Operations Branch of the K-9 unit and Explosive Detection Team serving LAX in a division know as the Airport Police Department.
The two coins above represent the K-9 unit on the left and a supervisor coin on the left. These are just two of the many law enforcement coins he has earned.
Here are a few others.
These coins are examples from the military. As you can imagine, my friend worked may details involving dignitaries and military support throughout his career and these are some of the ones he sent me. The first coin is from the Presidential Airlift Group and came from Air Force One itself during a visit to LAX. I even have pictures of the plane waiting on the tarmac!
The second coin is from the CIA's Office of Security and Counterintelligence and the third is from the Air Force. My father was in in the Air Force and this coin, along as other in the case holding his funeral flag remind me of his day serving our country.
And, the reverse
This Challenge Coin represents just that, a great challenge! This coin is from one of the most prestigious military schools in the world!! Annapolis of Maryland is one of the hardest military academies to be accepted into and graduating from Annapolis is a great honor! This is another example of a military coin. My police friend sent me this coin when is daughter completed her studies there.
And, the reverse
Here are examples of coins that are personalized for members of the government. The left Coin is for the Secretary of Veteran Affairs, Robert A. McDonnald. (I don't know if he is still in office) The coin on the right is a Congressional Coin for Nancy Pelosi.
Now, I am not a Democrat and I think Nancy Pelosi should have been committed to an asylum with a dedicated generator for her shock treatments years ago, but as famous as she has become, (bad or good) I think this coin will only rise in value. It was sent to me primarily as a joke and I did get a good laugh when I received it. Congressional coins are hard to come by as you can imagine.
I do apologize to any democrats I may have offended, but I am entitled to my opinion and I hear Trump bashing day to day. So don't cry.
And, the reverse.
The last example of these special coins I have is one from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. Many challenge coins come from Memorials of past Presidents and decommissioned ships, such as the USS Eisenhower, docked somewhere in California in honor of their service of our great nation.
And, the reverse.
Out of all these special coins I own, I must say the Air Force One coin is my favorite. It actually came from the plane itself! I have all of the pictures and text messages proving that this coin came from Air Force One tail number 29000. You don't get much better than that!
I do hope that this post gets some kind of attention. Not for me personally, but for those who protect us and our great nation both abroad and domestic.
This post is to honor our military who fight for our freedom around the world and for the civil servants that protect us in our everyday lives.
Thanks for your attention,
Slacker Stacker