Heating Things Up Around the Office
We were having a chat around the office about some of the blogs we’ve created lately. It came to our attention that we’ve spent a lot of time talking about law enforcement challenge coins, including State Trooper coins. We’ve talked about 911 dispatcher coins, but we haven’t given much attention to our firefighter challenge coins. That ends now!
As much as all of the first responder units work together to keep the peace and protect people from danger, we also know there can sometimes be a bit of a friendly rivalry between the units. While we’d hate to stoke the fires of those rivalries any further, we’d be remiss not to make sure to point out some of our favorite firefighter coins. Whether you think these coins are hotter than the different police department coins we’ve featured is up to you, but one thing we’re certain of is that it’s hard not to be impressed by the designs created by different fire departments around the country.
Honoring the Florian Cross
There’s some dispute about whether the emblem of fire departments around the world is the Maltese or the Florian cross. Strong historical evidence points to both, but no matter which cross has your particular loyalty, it goes without saying that the image shows up regularly on firefighter challenge coins.
The cross is the focal point of the reverse side of this coin from the Fire & Iron Firefighters Motorcycle Club. Indeed, the back is the perfect homage to all things firefighter given the presence of the hook and ladder, firefighter’s helmet and fire hydrant. But the dual nature of this coin is one of it’s more interesting aspects. Technically, the coin was created for members of the motorcycle club, but because the club is comprised completely of current and retired firefighters, we think it scores a point for firefighter coins everywhere.
Another dual purpose coin is this one from Matthew Yackley. As both a member of the 501st Legion and a firefighter, Yackley wanted his personal coin to reflect both of his passions. As a result, one side of his coin is dedicated to the Legion and an image of his Storm Trooper helmet, while the other side is dedicated to the Oswego Fire Protection District and his firefighter helmet.
We’re not trying to say that firefighters have a better sense of humor with their custom coins than law enforcement officers, but if that’s how you see it, we won’t correct you. Firefighters have a tendency to need an outlet to help them decompress after seeing some of the things they see and being in the station for days and days on end. Those outlets seem to make their way onto the firefighters’ coins more often than they do for other first responders. But when firefighter challenge coins focus exclusively on their stations, they tend to push design in interesting directions.
This Wake Forest Fire Department might make use of a cartoon firefighter, but that’s where any sense of whimsy ends. The interesting thing about this coin is the unique combination of copper plating and orange enamel. Those two colors aren’t often mixed together on a single coin. Typically, we see coins that match copper plating with a darker color to compliment it, but this coin goes to show that when you pick the proper warm color, it can really stand out against the antique copper plating. Also, what’s a firefighter challenge coin without a little fire in the design?
These two coins feel like they’re cut from the same cloth. The Brentwood Fire & Rescue coin makes use of a classic badge design on the front face, while the Albemarle County Fire Rescue Regional School coin also uses a simple design celebrating the school. It’s the reverse faces of each coin that really stand out. Both evoke images of firefighters working together to face-off against a seemingly insurmountable foe. The Albemarle coin makes use of one of the most intricate 3D molds we’ve seen to bring its fire-breathing dragon to life. Meanwhile, the Brentwood coin proves you don’t need 3D to make a really imposing monster. Both perfectly embody the spirit of being a firefighter: brotherhood and teamwork in the face of danger and extremely difficult odds.
Stoking the Challenge Coin Fires
Again, under no circumstances are we saying that the firefighter challenge coins are better than the police department challenge coins. We don’t believe that firefighters are funnier, or more prone to fits of levity in their challenge coin designs. But if you look at the coins above and feel a unique kinship to the men and women of fire stations around the country, we can’t blame you.
In actuality, we value all of our first responder customers equally. It’s an impossibly difficult and important job they have, and anything we can do to bring a little fun to their days is just fine by us. If your fire department doesn’t have challenge coins yet, or if you’re in need of a new order of challenge coins, we hope you find inspiration in these designs. Give us a call and we can get started on your order of custom coins immediately.
