What gives a coin its meaning? This month, it’s one Chief handing one coin to one agent, a union honoring members who served before their airline careers, and a paramedic class with a Bigfoot in gear.
Plus, how a coin gets made and the tradition behind a veteran’s lasting bond with theirs.
From the Gallery
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Coin
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CBP Chiefs don’t get standard-issue coins. A Chief’s coin is presented personally, by one leader to one agent they choose to recognize, which is why fewer of these get made and why the engraving runs deeper than a standard coin.
The dragon’s scales and claws needed deep sculpted relief to hold their shape at coin size, with minimal white and black paint added for depth rather than covering the metal. The back is personalized too, right down to the recipient’s name. |
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TWU Local 575 Veterans Committee Coin
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TWU Local 575 represents American Airlines flight crew based in Dallas-Fort Worth, and its Veterans Committee commissioned this coin to honor members who served before their airline careers.
The design called for sculpted military vehicles, an aircraft carrier, jet fighter and tank, fill the front, cast in a gold base with a brushed finish and a rope-pattern rim. The back carries its own tribute to where the union’s roots run. |
Coin Design of the Month
Made for the 50th graduating class of Tacoma Community College’s paramedic program, this coin puts a Bigfoot in paramedic gear on the front, with Mount Rainier behind him.
The back carries the Class 50 mark, a Roman soldier’s helmet flanked by the numbers 5 and 0.
Why it’s our pick of the month: Pairing a regional folk figure with a paramedic uniform is an unusual combination, and it’s the kind of concept that only works if the execution holds up. The Bigfoot needed enough detail to read clearly at coin scale without losing the humor, and the color separation between the mountain, sky and figure keeps the design legible instead of busy.
A Bigfoot in gear, a mountain behind him, and a nod to the program’s fiftieth class, all custom to this one design:
- Antique gold finish
- 3D detail
- Round shape
- Rope-edge rim
Every finish, shape and level of detail is open for your team’s customization. Explore our manufacturing options.
Stories Worth Reading
How a Custom Challenge Coin Gets Made
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 Nine steps carry a coin from a rough sketch to a finished piece, with a digital proof along the way so every name, rank and date gets checked before production starts.
If a coin is still just an idea and a quote feels like a big first step, this guide walks through what actually happens before you commit to anything. Read the guide. |
A Coin That Outlasts the Uniform
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 The tradition traces back to a World War I pilot whose squadron coin proved his identity to allied forces, and that story still shapes why one small piece of metal carries so much weight.
Real coins built since then, from a POW/MIA tribute to one honoring fallen veterans, show how differently that same weight gets carried from unit to unit. Read the story. |
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LOOKING AHEAD
Here are a few dates to build a coin around this year.
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Have an Idea for Your Own Coin?
A coin doesn’t need a date on the calendar. Whatever the rest of the year brings your unit, business or organization, send us your idea, logo, sketch or finished artwork. Our team will turn it into a custom coin you will be proud to hand out.
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