The Top Gun Challenge Coins
If you’re looking for the ultimate luxury sedan for the jet-set lifestyle, Rolls-Royce has everything you need. With an unmistakable grill full of chrome teeth, a Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, and their signature suicide doors, a Rolls-Royce is as much a status symbol as it is a unique driving experience. But the luxury car market isn’t the only place you’ll find the company’s emblem.
As the second-largest producer of jet engines in the world, describing a Rolls-Royce as the ultimate jet-set sedan is more apt a description than most people know. We recently had the opportunity to help create a set of custom coins for the Rolls-Royce manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, where the company designs, tests and manufactures most of its aircraft engines and power systems. The design has a special nod to the iconic film Top Gun while also stamping the plant’s Indiana-shaped emblem on one side.
Here at Signature Coins, we help create challenge coins for all kinds of different teams around the world, but there is something extra special about working with a company like Rolls-Royce. Their reputation in the automotive world only scratches the surface of what they can do. Their products give humankind the ability to take to the skies, push planes beyond the sound barrier, and can even help jets hover in place without stalling. Knowing that our coins are being awarded to the men and women pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in propulsion, transportation and even exploration beyond the stars is a source of pride.
With this in mind, we wanted to share some of the coins we’ve helped design in the past for teams pushing us higher, further and faster than ever before, not only in the sky but beyond as well.
Higher, Further, Faster
The Rolls-Royce manufacturing facility in Indianapolis produces turboshaft and turbofan engines for commercial and military helicopters, jets and airplanes, among other things. The Top Gun challenge coins were created for the Health, Safety and Environment department at the facility, which is responsible for keeping 4,000 employees safe while they’re designing, manufacturing and testing the equipment every day.
When you consider the size of their facility and the scope of their work, it’s hard to believe that Rolls-Royce is only the second-largest manufacturer of jet engines. The largest producer of jet engines is General Electric (GE).
Like Rolls-Royce, GE has a long history in the world of aviation. They’ve supplied the power for some of the world’s most iconic aircraft like the Blackhawk helicopter, the B2 Stealth Bomber and even Air Force One. Coins like these are awarded to active-duty soldiers and veterans both inside and outside the company as a mark of respect and a symbol of the company’s long-time partnership with the United States Military. One of the more incredible designs we worked on was a coin-shaped like GE’s T700-701D turboshaft engine.
These coins were created in honor of the partnership between GE and the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD). Together, they refurbished and restored all the T700-701D turboshaft engines powering the AH-64 Apache helicopters in service. It’s not the first time we’ve worked on commemorative coins that celebrate the restoration of famous aircraft, but the custom shape and fine detail make this coin something truly special to behold. The 2D design captures the complexity of the engine and honors the collaboration between the two organizations.
Reaching For The Stars
Companies like Rolls-Royce and GE design incredible means of propulsion, but without something to propel into the sky, an engine doesn’t serve much purpose. The actual airframes the engines are attached to are manufactured by companies like Airbus, Lockheed-Martin and Boeing just to name a few. Everyone knows that airframe manufacturers are helping to make flights around the world faster and safer, but it’s important to remember that they’re also at the frontlines of innovation and exploration in space as well.
Boeing is well known for its planes and helicopters, but they’ve also been hard at work on something to take humankind beyond the stratosphere. These coins feature the CST-100 Starliner Space Capsule, which is in the final development phases, and were created for members of the Boeing Fire Department.
Boeing needs its own private fire department because of the inherently dangerous process of airplane testing, and also because of the sheer size of the manufacturing facilities. To ensure the safety of everyone involved, members of the Boeing Fire Department were on hand during all the testing of the Starliner, and these coins honor their contribution to the team.
Orbex is another company reaching for the stars. These coins were created for the grand opening of their facility in Scotland and feature the company’s logo with artwork of the unique launch vehicle they developed. The company plans on assisting in the delivery of up to 10 nanosatellites to Earth’s orbit by 2023, which will help provide internet access to some of the most remote places on earth. These coins only represent the beginning of a challenge coin tradition for Orbex, which is planning to commemorate all of its milestone achievements with a special coin.
Great Achievements Deserve a Meaningful Reward
The Wright brothers were the first to fly a heavier than air machine in 1903, and less than a lifetime later, humankind landed on the moon. Today, organizations like NASA, Orbex, Boeing, GE and Rolls-Royce are carrying the torch and taking us further and faster than ever before.
The coins we help design for these companies commemorate the important steps they take and the incredible people willing to test the limits of possibility. It may seem like we’ve come as far as we can, but we expect to make even more coins to honor the people pushing the envelope and achieving greatness all over again.
