Navy IYAOYAS Challenge Coins

USS Nimitz AO’s

Looking at this coins, with it’s very colorful front imagery, is likely to give anyone an immediate strong impression. Even more interesting, however, is the unpronounceable acronym on the back: IYAOYAS. Unknown to many outside of a small Naval Aviation community, this term is slang for Aviation Ordnancemen. The acronyms meaning, even less well-known, stands for “If You Ain’t Ordnance, You Ain’t Shit.”

When Embleholics was contacted to make Navy IYAOYAS challenge coins for a local chapter of Navy Ordnancemen, we wanted to make something very graphic and vibrant since we knew how passionate they are about their rating and job. Out of the design process came a skull, flying through the air, with flames enveloped all around it. It’s easy to come to an immediate conclusion with this picture coupled with knowing anything about ordnancmen: AO’s are helping the Navy bring death and destruction on wings of fire to America’s foes. Or perhaps you can come up with your own meaning?

That’s the great thing about art, it is open to interpretation. Sometimes a coin needs to represent certain value or ideas, or symbols. Other times, when there is a great deal more creative liberty–usually when it is for a specific community like Navy IYAOYAS challenge coins–a more creative look is possible. The number 68–the chapter’s number–is on the skull, and the back is filled in with factual detail stating who commissioned the coin design. This latter detail, even on the most casual or creative of coins, will want to be included so that anyone who ever sees it will know immediately where the coin came from. You would be surprise how subtly this information can be presented with a little bit of artistic maneuvering.

Embleholics’ exclusive challenge coin artist created this design, and has created numerous others equally impressive and creative. All that our artist needs to get started is a basic sketch or idea, or some similar images and they will get going as soon as possible on something incredible looking for you. Our artists have over 15 years of experience designing thousands of different products. And the best part about us is that, unlike almost no other challenge coin company out there, we allow our customers to make as many revisions as are needed in order to get the design perfect down to every little detail.