Custom Challenge Coins that Capture A Collective Sense of Identity
Creating a meaningful and memorable challenge coin is all about finding the right artwork to symbolize your team. For first responders and law enforcement, the thin line American flag is one of the most identifiable images associated with their profession.
It’s a symbol of their service, their sacrifice and their courage in the line of duty. Each different color line has a different meaning and is associated with a different profession. The colors may be unique to each service, but each thin line represents a collective sense of understanding between first responders that transcends any distance and any differences between individual teams.
This is just one example of many different thin line challenge coins we have helped design. For U.S. Border Patrol, the thin green line represents their dedication to national security and service to our country. We have been fortunate enough to help agencies and teams of first responders and law enforcement officers all over the world create challenge coins, and including a nod to the thin line in their designs is always a popular choice.
While the thin green line is growing in recognition, the most famous of all the thin line symbols still belongs to law enforcement: The thin blue line.
Thin Blue Line Challenge Coins
The thin blue line symbolizes how police officers are the border between order and chaos in our community. It calls to mind the sacrifices made by officers on a daily basis while they protect and serve and hold the line of peace. The thin blue line was the first “thin line” to gain popularity, and is also the most well known. Since police challenge coins are all about honoring the sacrifice and courage of a team of uniformed officers, creating a thin blue line challenge coin design is a popular idea. While using the thin blue line flag as a backdrop accentuates any law enforcement challenge coin design, there are other ways to incorporate it into custom artwork.
These K-9 unit challenge coins made for the Montgomery Police department have a menacing look and unique shape thanks to the sharp teeth, pointed ears, and dog collar edge in the artwork. Instead of using the thin blue line as a backdrop to the design, the client thought it would be awesome to include it as a stripe along the dog skull, reminiscent of war paint.
Thin Red Line Challenge Coins
The thin red line represents the courage and determination shared by every firefighter. Like the thin blue line challenge coin, the thin red line challenge coin has spread across thousands of different cities and is a symbol shared by fire departments all over the world.
Different teams like to incorporate the flag in their challenge coin designs in different ways. Sometimes changing up the traditional flag design in a subtle way is enough to make a really memorable coin. The Manatee Fire Rescue team's idea to use a red fire ax was simple enough, but the result is unique.
The Heber-Overgaard Fire Department wanted to leave the flag design on their thin red line challenge coin intact but also asked if our artists could reference the local wildlife and topography. While most coins use the thin line flag as a backdrop, this coin flips that idea on its head. Instead of sitting in front of the flag, the trees and mountains of Arizona are cut into the flag design, creating a one-of-a-kind aesthetic.
Thin Gold Line Challenge Coins
Between the thin blue and red lines is the thin gold line representing emergency dispatchers. These are the men and women on the other side of every 911 call who are rarely seen but play a vital role in every emergency response. Like the thin blue and red lines, the thin gold line symbolizes all dispatchers, not just a specific team, and is focused on both awareness and teamwork.
Just as this custom coin created by the city of Fredericton says, dispatchers are always heard, but rarely seen. It’s important for the community and for members of other parts of public service to remember the importance of emergency dispatchers and operators. They make all the difference in response times and help keep all first responders organized and alert. The American flag is usually used to display all thin line imagery, but these coins show that it's possible to create a thoughtful design with nothing more than a thin line cutting through the center of the coin.
Creating Your Own Thin Line Challenge Coins
There are more colors than just blue, red and gold when it comes to the thin line American flag. There is also white for first responders, green for border patrol, and orange for search and rescue teams just to name a few. No matter what style of thin line challenge coin you need, our Signature Coins team has got you covered.
We may be a small custom coin company in Florida, but we’ve worked with police, firefighters, dispatchers and first responders from all over the world. Just send us your ideas, and see what we can design for you!
