Is Selling Challenge Coins Okay?

Is Selling Challenge Coins Okay?

by | Mar 1, 2016

Is Selling Challenge Coins Okay?

We spend a lot of our time looking at challenge coins on the internet and one thing is certain: there are lots of them. They come in all kinds of different shapes and sizes, and represent all kinds of military or nonmilitary ideas and organizations. Some are complex or cutout shapes, and some have simple designs. They may even be so different from a normal coin that is can be difficult to classify them as a challenge coin. Who’s to judge?

One thing that we sometimes do cringe at is the amount of custom coins being made out there and sold for profit through an online store.  At such a store, you can buy any coin they have. However, challenge coin have always been meant to be earned or given away, and we believe that this tradition should hold, that challenge coins should be earned or should at least promote a good cause or event. These latter reasons are what our custom coins are most often used for. Leaders order them from us and then give them out as informal awards to colleagues and subordinates. Sometimes we see coins being sold on Facebook as presales where the seller obviously put as little work as possible into their design and are selling their coins for $20 each.

It’s not our place to judge people on what they do with their coins or how they design them, but we do sometimes look down at those who don’t put any effort at least in designing a good coin. It often becomes just an effort to make as many different coin designs as possible, which necessarily leads to a sacrifice of quality in favor of quantity. There is something almost sacred about forging a coin with a design in it and we believe it should always be of high quality, with great thought put into it. Unfortunately some people disagree.

In searching for challenge coins, you’ll quickly spot a number of sites that primarily selling challenge coins in a store online. Often they have nothing to do with the military and just are there to promote their product for a quick buck. Quite often, they run by overseas manufacturers with a nice looking website, but who sell direct to customers. Less frequently, they are located here in the United States. Our view is that selling challenge coins online should at least be done by those who are in the military, or performing a service such as a firefighter or police officer. Someone who just decides to sell challenge coins–particularly a foreigner who couldn’t care less about challenge coins–who doesn’t simultaneously adhere to the great traditions behind the challenge coin, dilutes the tradition.

Embleholics tries to avoid being like this by remaining 100% veteran owned and operated. We understand challenge coins and believe in making high quality coins for our customers. Part of our passion is making great challenge coins, and we just don’t accept making shoddy ones.

Whatever your preference is, we think that supporting a veteran or promoting the use of challenge coins as a tradition is the most important aspect of challenge coins. With many of our American traditions going by the wayside, it’s important that we keep at least some of them. Traditions are what keep us grounded in the face of an incredibly uncertain future. Please consider these ideas when choosing to work with a challenge coin maker.

What do you think? Is Selling Challenge Coins Okay?

USO Challenge Coin

USO Challenge Coin

by | Feb 28, 2016

USO Challenge Coin

We recently had the great pleasure of working with the USO in designing their 75th anniversary USO challenge coin. With this design we also created collector boxes which each coin was presented in. The boxes had the USO updated logo inside so that when the customer opened the box it they would see the logo and the coin.

 

Embleholics was excellent to work with! I had a rush job for a very important anniversary for my job and after a few missteps on our part, they was able to provide a quality Challenge Coin and beautiful display boxes in order to hit our deadline.

Rachel Feinberg

Marketing and Communications Associate at USO of Illinois, USO

The USO challenge coin features the state of Illinois as well as the American flag flying in the background. It also includes stars on the back side of the coin that represent the logo. Overall the coin was a great addition to the USO’s collection of challenge coins, and a wonderful project for Embleholics to work on.

Embleholics helps military organizations and organizations that support military with manufacturing them custom challenge coins. We often make challenge coins for non-profit organizations for discounted rates or for free to support their cause. We also donate portions of our profits to veteran based non-profits to help with their funding.

If you represent a non-profit organization please contact us and we will see if we are able to support you with a free set of challenge coins, or at least make them for you at a discounted rate. We currently list the organizations that we have supported in the past and would be glad to help you bring awareness to your organization by listing your site there, or to provide you products to help advertise your mission.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with other non-profit organizations in the future. We strive to give our customers and those who support veterans the best experience possible and the highest quality challenge coins on the market.

The Story of Making Great Custom Challenge Coins

The Story of Making Great Custom Challenge Coins

by | Oct 26, 2015

My First of Many Great Challenge Coins

I received my first of many great challenge coins at my first unit. There is one day during my time in the military that I will never forget. I was working hard to clean my assigned area at the base. As I was scrubbing off the dirt from the day, my Commanding Officer approached. He placed in my hand my first custom challenge coin, looked me in the eye, shook my hand, and walked off. There was no big ceremony, no applause, and no band playing, but it was one moment in my military career that symbolized all of my effort and hard work. Even though it was almost 11 years ago, the firm handshake communicated a level of respect and honor that meant more to me than almost any previous moment. Receiving that first great challenge coin really was the start of my fascination and eventual strive to produce great challenge coins for others.

How I got Involved

Jimmy Fallon Challenge Coin

Over the years, I got involved in various businesses and always tried to continue to bring the old traditions with me everywhere I went. Even though I have been involved with businesses since the age of 15, my goal with each one was to make something that would improve the lives of others. Some of these businesses took off and Embleholics and our challenge coins even got me on The Tonight’s Show. Most of my success comes from the lessons I learned at the military and specifically that moment of receiving my challenge coin. This moment would be particularly important for the business I have now.

Years went by, and I collected an assortment of custom challenge coins. These coins mean so much, yet the problem I saw from many challenge coin manufactures is that they didn’t put nearly as much care, effort, and quality into each and every coin. They didn’t understand how symbolic the coins were, and that came through in each final product. I couldn’t help but think of my own moment with each new coin I received. I felt that this was a disservice to both the person receiving the coin and also the history of the coins when they were not made with the highest quality and care. My time throughout the military taught me the importance of details, and I wanted coins that reflected these values. The impact on my life from receiving that coin is the main reason I started my business and my drive to make great challenge coins for our customers. I set out to make sure the coins were of the highest quality so they would match the importance and symbolism of the moment.

challenge coin pilot

The History of Great Challenge Coins

While there is some history of custom challenge coins being created during the Roman Empire, they became a mark of honor in America mainly during World War I. A young pilot had a medallion in a pouch around his neck that kept him alive. He had landed in German territory and was taken as a prisoner. He escaped during a bombing and the only thing he had on his body was his medallion. The French were prepared to execute him, except one soldier recognized the insignia on it, so the execution was called off. Essentially, the coin he had changed his life. Quickly after, many more squads chose to carry coins as a sign of recognition and honor. There are also stories during World War II for soldiers to ask to see a medallion to confirm the identity of the person they were talking to. Soldiers realized that people could easily lie about their identity, but it would be much harder to fake a particular coin.

What Great Challenge Coins are Today

While challenge coins are huge in the military, they are now also used for other branches, firefighters, law enforcement, along with various awards, groups, and gifts. Each coin represents an achievement, a sign of respect, or a symbolic badge of honor. This is why I felt it was so important to make high quality coins, because these are not small moments in someone’s life. The true heart of my challenge coin company, Embleholics, is based on honoring the importance of the moment and the traditions that come with it. I wanted a business that also reflected the values I learned from the military. I wanted a business that cared about each individual customer, focused on being efficient, produced high quality results, and also continues to give back. Embleholics gives back to both the USO and DAV.org, which supports military, veterans, and their families. This makes us not only a great challenge coin manufacture but a great business.

USS Nimitz Challenge Coin

 Embleholics’ Mission Statement

My goal in creating Embleholics was to create a business that had the same attention to detail and high quality that my custom coins have. I didn’t just want a high quality product, I wanted a high quality business as well. Each of our custom challenge coin has the potential to impact others lives just like my first coin did for me. This is why my customers stay with my business: you can’t compete with the heart and soul I put into each and every coin. I believe the true heart of a business owner is willing to learn and put their heart into the product, the business, the customers, and the employees. I maintain this standard for myself every single day. Honor and traditions aren’t just important for the military, they are also important for our every day life. A tradition such as a challenge coin should be continued, because big events deserve to be celebrated and always remembered. After Embleholics was founded in 2014, I focused on connecting with businesses and military members that felt the same root of honor and traditions as I did.

The Challenge Coin Tradition Continued

I have always felt that traditions are an important part of not only business but also life. Great traditions in my mind include the handshake, staying true to your word, and producing quality work. These were the same traditions I made sure to bring to every aspect of Embleholics and our custom challenge coins.

 

You can read more about Lee Adams and Embleholics mission to its customers and partners here.