IGY6 stands for I Got Your Six. It comes from the habit of giving directions by clock position, where six o’clock is directly behind you, and from being trained never to leave that direction uncovered. As a symbol it has come to mean something narrower and more specific: that it is all right to say you are not all right.
What the Symbol Is Doing
The phrase is old and the symbol is not. IGY6 has become a shorthand within the military and first responder communities for mental health support, used on patches, decals, bracelets and coins, and it carries one message rather than a general sentiment.
The point of it is permission. It says that the person wearing or carrying it will take the call, and that asking is not a failure. In communities where the training is to absorb and carry on, that is not a small thing to put on an object.
That is also why the symbol has spread the way it has. It is short, it is said in four characters, and it does not require anyone to explain their situation in order to display it.
If you or somebody you serve with needs to talk to someone now, the Veterans Crisis Line is reachable by dialing 988 and pressing 1.
A Serious Message on a Hard-Looking Object
This is the design question the coin actually poses, and it is worth treating properly rather than smoothing over.
The coin carries a painted skull and a chain-pattern rim. Those are tough, unsentimental devices, and the message underneath them is about asking for help. A designer’s instinct might be to soften the imagery to match the subject.
That instinct is wrong, and the reason matters. The audience for this coin is people who would not carry something gentle. A coin that looks like a wellness product does not get carried by the people it is for, and a coin that is not carried does nothing at all. The hard imagery is what gets it into a pocket, and the message travels with it.
So the rule for this kind of piece: match the visual language of the people who will carry it, not the tone of the subject. The seriousness goes in the words and in the symbol. The surface can look like whatever that community already wears.
Two practical notes on the elements themselves. A skull reads from its negative space, the sockets and the nasal opening, so it works recessed and engraved and turns into an undifferentiated lump if it is raised and rounded. And a chain pattern around a rim has to be coarse enough to survive the strike, because fine links close up into a textured band and stop reading as chain.
An Event Coin Rather Than an Organization Coin
These were made for a Vets Helping Vets IGY6 event in 2022, which makes this an event coin, and that is its own category.
An event coin is dated by nature, so like an anniversary piece it cannot be reordered once the event has passed. The quantity has to cover the attendance plus the people who ask afterwards, because there is no second run. We cover that trade on our anniversary coin page.
Two further things follow. An event coin can be as specific as the organizers like, because being tied to one occasion is the point rather than a flaw. And a recurring event is the exception: if the same event runs annually, a design with the year in its own position can be reissued each time with only that element changed.
Who Made It
The Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association ordered these coins for its event. CVMA is an association of combat veterans who ride, organized in numbered local chapters, and its motto is Vets Helping Vets.
For how riding chapters order and what makes their artwork translate well to metal, see our veterans riding association coin page.
For a memorial piece in a similar register, see our Taps challenge coin page.
Order an Event or Awareness Coin
Free professional artwork, unlimited revisions and a digital proof before anything is produced. Free shipping within the continental US, a 50-coin minimum, and most orders complete 45 to 50 days after artwork approval, with rush production available. Embleholics is veteran-owned, an SDVOSB, and registered in SAM.gov.
If the coin is for a dated event, order generously and start early. There is no topping up a dated run, and the date does not move.
See more military challenge coins.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does IGY6 mean?
IGY6 stands for I Got Your Six. Six o’clock is directly behind you in clock-position directions, so the phrase means watching the direction a person cannot watch themselves, and as a symbol it stands for mental health support within the military and first responder communities.
What is an IGY6 challenge coin for?
It carries the symbol and the message that comes with it: that asking for help is not a failure and that the person holding it will take the call. They are used by units, associations and events as a visible, low-key way of saying so.
Why does an IGY6 coin look tough rather than gentle?
Because the people it is for would not carry something that looked like a wellness product, and a coin that is not carried does nothing. The imagery matches the visual language of that community and the seriousness sits in the symbol and the words.
How should a skull be rendered on a coin?
Recessed and engraved rather than raised and rounded. A skull reads from its negative space, the eye sockets and the nasal opening, so cutting it in keeps those shapes while building it up in relief turns it into an undifferentiated form.
Can a chain pattern go around a coin’s rim?
Yes, as long as it is coarse enough to survive the strike. Fine links close up into a textured band and stop reading as chain, so the pattern is drawn heavier than a scale drawing would suggest.
What is an event challenge coin?
An event coin marks a particular occasion and carries its date, which means it cannot be reordered once the event has passed. The quantity has to cover attendance plus the people who ask afterwards.
Can an event coin be reused next year?
Only if the design was built for it. Putting the year in its own panel or position means next year’s coin is the same tooling with one element changed, where a year worked into the artwork means redrawing it.
Who are the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association?
CVMA is an association of combat veterans who ride, organized in numbered local chapters across the country, with the motto Vets Helping Vets. Chapters fund and order their own coins.
Where can a veteran get support now?
The Veterans Crisis Line is reachable by dialing 988 and then pressing 1. It is available to veterans, service members and their families, and it does not require enrollment in VA care.
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