History of the Challenge Coin

During World War I, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in mid-term to join the war. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore around his neck.

Shortly after acquiring the medallions, the pilots’ aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was immediately captured by a German patrol. In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck. In the meantime, he was taken to a small French town near the front. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped. However, he was without personal identification.

He succeeded in avoiding German patrols by donning civilian attire and reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no-man's land. Eventually, he stumbled onto a French outpost. Unfortunately, saboteurs had plagued the French in that sector. They sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot's American accent, the French thought him to be a saboteur and made ready to execute him. He had no identification to prove his allegiance, but he did have his leather pouch containing the medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners and one of his French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion. They delayed his execution long enough for him to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him they gave him a bottle of wine.

Back at his squadron, it became tradition to ensure that all members carried their medallion or coin at all times. This was accomplished in the following manner - a challenger would ask to see the medallion. If the challenged could not produce a medallion, they were required to buy a drink of choice for the member who challenged them. If the challenged member produced a medallion, then the challenging member was required to pay for the drink. This tradition continued on throughout the war and for many years after the war while surviving members of the squadron were still alive.

We proudly continue this tradition of the challenge coin.

Reprinted from a Kelly AFB Dining Out Presentation

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How do I place an order?

If you are interested in a quote, you can click on "online quote" on our homepage or you can contact anyone via email on our contact page. You will have a detailed quote emailed back to you, based on the specifications and/or artwork you send in your email to us.
Please be sure to review this quote carefully and ensure it contains the specifications you desire and require.

Once you have received your quote and are ready to place your order, follow the steps below:

1. WE CANNOT TAKE ORDERS OVER THE PHONE.
   We require a physical signature on the order form to show that you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service .
   Instead, please navigate our website to our order form. THIS IS NOT AN ONLINE ORDER.
   Fill it out in its entirety, print it out, sign it and fax it in to us. The die fee will be charged up front. Email us any artwork you have at this time, even if you had already sent it in for a quote previously.
   
   
2. Once we have received the faxed order form and the die fee payment, your order is entered into our system. Orders are processed in the manner they are received and in most cases, work begins on a design within 1 to 3 business days (depending on current workflow) of receiving the completed order form and die fee payment. One of the graphic artists will design your coin's artwork.
   
   
3. When the design has been completed, the Art Director will email you a link to the artwork for your approval. When you receive that email, just reply to the email approving or disapproving the artwork, and any necessary changes will be made.
   Major design changes, including complete redesigns of coin artwork will incur additional artwork fees of $50.00 per hour. These are changes that generally take 1 or more hours to complete. Simple changes will not incur any further charges.
   If we work on a design for you and you decide to cancel the order, you will be charged the $150.00 design rate for your coin and your die fee will not be refunded.
   
   
4. Once you approve the artwork, it is sent to the factory for production and the remaining balance will be charged after you approve the artwork.
   
   
5. A full order will take at least 45 days from the date the artwork was approved (NOT the date of the order form submision) to be completed.
   
   BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME OF COINS WE ARE WORKING ON AT ANY GIVEN TIME, WE UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL OR DETAILED STATUS UPDATES DURING YOUR COIN'S PRODUCTION PROCESS.
   
   
6. Shipping is free on new orders only (except RUSH ORDERS)
   All domestic orders can be shipped via UPS and a tracking number can be sent upon request when the package ships.
   Orders sent to an APO or FPO address are sent via US Postal Service and can take up to threeto four weeks to arrive.
   

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What if I have artwork?

Your coin design can be e-mailed to us in Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, .Tif, .JPG or .pdf format. We use Adobe products including Illustrator, Photoshop, and GoLive! to design and upload your coin to the web, so .ai, and nonmerged .psd files work the best, BUT other formats work as well. The only thing we DO NOT recommend are faxes. You can e-mail your design by clicking here and attaching your image files.

There is no cost for us to evaluate your design to obtain a quote. If your coin requires a special die we will tell you up front. We will always be honest with you and tell you the total price before you place your order, and if you are interested in a quote before you order, you can contact us and we will email it to you.

If you don't have a design when you place your order, our graphics department will work with you to create exactly what you're looking for once you place your order and pay the die fee. Our design service includes taking the artwork that you e-mail us and arranging it on the coin layout to your specifications. However, If we work on a design for you and you decide to cancel the order, you will be charged the $150.00 design rate for your coin and your die fee will not be refunded.

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What is the difference between "die struck" and "die cast"?

All of our coins are DIE STRUCK not die cast. Casting is a cheaper form of making coins where they melt down the solid metal and pour it into a mold. DIE CAST coins can actually break if you drop them because they have tiny air pockets all through the metal as a result of melting the metal and pouring it into the mold. DIE STRUCK coins are created by first designing two sides of the mold from solid steel. Then, using the metal type requested, the mold sides close together essentially "stamping" the design into the raw metal surface.

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What is my Coin ID?

There are two things that happen when you place an order. The first thing is that your order receives a Temporary ID Number (ex. tmp01310601) to distinguish it from other customer orders. The second thing is that your Temporary Customer ID Number gets assigned a name which is referred to as a Coin ID once the artwork is created.

Your Coin ID is assigned by the graphic artist after you place your order. It is usually an acronym based on the text on the top or bottom ring of your coin. For example, the coin to the right says "Del Rio Sector" across the top so the Coin ID could be drs_06, the _06 is an attachment we add to signify the year the coin is designed. When the art director sends you a link to your artwork, your Coin ID is in the link---the link should read http://www.wemakecoins.com/coinid where coinid is the name of your coin. So if your Coin ID was drs_06, you just add a forward slash and type in drs_06 and hit enter and it will take you to your artwork. Your link should look like this: http://www.wemakecoins.com/drs_06 . When you are viewing the artwork, your Coin ID is in red at the top of the page where it says Coin ID:.

* Because of the volumes of coins we have created in the past and are working on at any given time, we cannot find your coin based on your unit or group. Your Coin ID is the fastest, easiest, and most reliable way to find your coin.

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How long will it take to get my coins?

Once you are satisfied with the artwork and have sent your approval in writing to the Art Director, a full order the actual coins will take AT LEAST 45 days from the date the artwork was approved (NOT the date of the order form submision) to finish production, so plan ahead and allow enough time to complete the job before you run out of time if you would like them by a certain date.
When production has completed, the order will then be shipped.
All domestic orders can be shipped via UPS and a tracking number is sent when the package ships.
Orders sent to APO or FPO are sent via US Postal Service and can take up to three weeks to arrive.

BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME OF COINS WE ARE WORKING ON AT ANY GIVEN TIME, WE UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT PROVIDE INDIVIDUAL OR DETAILED STATUS UPDATES DURING YOUR COIN'S PRODUCTION PROCESS.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT DUE TO THE INTRICATE AND DETAILED NATURE OF THE HANDIWORK INVOLVED, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT ANY ORDER COMPLETION OR 'DELIVER BY' DATES.

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What about reordering coins?

WE CANNOT TAKE ORDERS OVER THE PHONE.
We require a physical signature on the order form to show that you have read and agreed to our Terms of Service . Whenever you're ready to reorder your coin, just follow the same process as when you first ordered your coins. We request that you fill out our online order form, print it out and fax it in to us. On the form, just check tenter your Coin ID and quantity desired in the boxes provided. If you are unsure of your Coin ID, you can email us an image of the coin or original artwork and we can locate your Coin ID for you. You needn't fill out any other information at the top of the form, other than the quantity desired. Minimum reorder is 100 coins and shipping charges are the responsibility of the customer for all reorders, but you will not be charged a die fee again.
Reorders take approximately 30-35 days to complete production from the time the reorder form is processed. WE DO NOT ALLOW OTHER ORGANIZATIONS OR INDIVIDUALS USE OF YOUR DIES.

What is the "die fee" and why do I have to pay it?

When you place an order, the die fee is charged up front. It is the cost of carving the mold to design your coin and the materials used. We charge you this fee up front to also cover the time spent designing your artwork, but the die itself is what will be used to stamp your coins. When you approve the artwork and production is started, the remainder of the balance is charged. Nothing is done without your satisfaction and approval. The coin can't be sold to another customer without your approval.

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Rush Service

If you have an order that you need to rush, we can produce your coins and get them in the mail (normally) within 30-35 days of your artwork approval. We do this by moving your order to the front of the job queue for production. During high production periods this may be slightly longer. March - October is the busiest time of the year for most coin companies so plan ahead and allow yourself enough time to complete the job before you run out of time.

* When a Rush Order Type is selected the customer will pay a $100 rush artwork fee to receive the design
in 1 or 2 days for approval. The customer is responsible for paying the shipping and handling fees. Shipping is not free for this service including new orders.

* Please keep in mind, the Rush service moves your project to a High Priority. Our graphic designers will place your order first in the artwork queue. Actual minting time for your coin will decrease to 30 - 35 days but it does not guarantee that the coins will be completed and shipped out by that given time frame.

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