Theta Sigma Tau Challenge Coin

A Table of Contents / FAQ

• What is a Challenge Coin?
• Why a Tau Challenge Coin?
• What does the Tau Challenge Coin look like?
• Who is eligible to receive a coin?
• What are the rules and neo-traditional customs revolving around the coin?
• How much does a coin cost?
• How do I get one?

So... what IS a challenge coin?

A Challenge Coin is a coin-shaped token that represents membership in a group or organization. The original concept of a Challenge coin is as follows (the veracity of this story may be questionable... some of the details sound a bit too contrived).

During World War I, a lieutenant from a wealthy family ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his air squadron. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore about his neck.

Some time after acquiring the medallion, the pilot's aircraft was severely damaged by enemy fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was 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. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped... but without personal identification.

He managed to avoid German patrols by dressing in civilian clothing and succeeded in reaching the front lines. He finally came upon a French outpost. Unfortunately, saboteurs had been plaguing the French in that area, sometimes masquerading as civilians. Because he had no identification and the French being unable to recognize the young pilot's American accent, they suspected him of being a saboteur. As the French discussed their options, the leading one being to shoot him as an enemy combatant, the airman showed his medallion to his French captors, one of whom 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 through challenge 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.
(This material obtained and paraphrased from CoinForce.com. Similar stories appear on a variety of other websites.)

The website of the US Airforce Wire Dawgs lists the rules and traditions that surround their own challenge coin, these seem to be somewhat commonly held traditions:

The Challenge Coin concept moved out of military circles and was adopted by many kinds of organizations and clubs, including fraternities and sororities. Even Sigma Nu has this tradition, as a quick search of eBay will show the occasional Sigma Nu Challenge Coin up for auction.

Why a challenge coin for Tau?

The idea of creating a challenge coin was suggested on the Alumni Exploder and a large number of active and alumni members took an interest. The idea of a token symbolizing membership and connection with other members (as well as a reason to scam drinks off of forgetful brethren) was very appealing.

Over the period of several weeks a coin design was generated by an informal committee formed of active members and alumni. Design ideas were suggested and voted upon, until a final version was approved by all of those that were involved.

A little shopping around was done and an on-line business that specializes in the creation of custom coins and medallions was selected. Once they completed the design to the members' specifications (also done by vote) the coin was officially commissioned. Pete Lenz (89) fronted the money to pay for the initial order of coins and at the same time he began taking orders from alumni and actives who were interested in having one (or more) coins.

Nearly 70 coins from the first order of 150 coins were designated as donor coins by our very generous alumni (and a couple of actives). The majority of these coins were used to ensure that every active member at the 2006 Spring Formal received a coin and that pledges since then have received a coin upon activation (negotiations are ongoing with the house to find a way to finance the continuation of this tradition). Several of the coins were designated to be gifted to the house's faculty advisors, past and present. Several others were designated to be incorporated into a plaque commemorating those Taus that have passed away since the reformation of the house in 1976.

The Alumni Association still has about 30 coins that are unspoken for. When the stock on hand begins to dwindle, a reorder will be made so that we always have coins for those who want/need them.

What does the Theta Sigma Tau Challenge Coin look like?

The images below are the final art designed by the vendor for use in creating the dies used to stamp the coins. What you see is exactly what the coins look like. With the detail that the original images provide (they are too large to post here) one can see that the very tiny yin yang symbol at the top of the 2006 crest is intact and looks good.

Below are scans of a coin (in a hard plastic protective case with a black foam rubber surround) to give you a fair idea of what the coins look like. The detail is as good as in the artwork (above). The raised portions are mirror-like shiny surfaces while the lowered portions have a matte finish. The detail items, such as the yin yang on the reverse and the leaves on the laurel branches on both sides, are excellent. Click on either image to open a new window with a larger version of the image.

A written description:

• Obverse: the crest of the house as it was first designed at the time of reformation in 1976, centered on the face of the coin. At the edge of the face, encircling the crest: "Theta Sigma Tau" on an unfurled scroll at the top; and the years "1910 1976 1980" on the bottom. These dates honor, in order, the academic years of the original formation of Theta Sigma Tau (1909 - 1910 school year), the year we reformed after Sigma Nu left (1975 - 1976), and the year that we went co-ed (1979 - 1980).
• Reverse: the current crest of the house, centered on the face of the coin. At the edge of this face, encircling the crest, would be the Five Virtues that are represented by the five stars found on BOTH crests. These are set equidistantly from each other and have a five pointed star between each:
  Equality * Liberty * Dignity * Loyalty * Fraternity

The coin is made of a metal that is silvery in appearance and will be 1.75" in diameter. There will not be a mint date on it... they will all be equal to each other, regardless of the date upon which they were minted... just as the membership are all considered to be equals regardless of age, gender, race, etc.

Who is eligible to have/obtain a coin?

With regard to who may voluntarily obtain a coin:

• Until such time that all donated coins are depleted, newly activated members of the house will be awarded a single challenge coin. Once the donated coins are depleted, it is hoped that the tradition can continue through either the Big/Little system or by using money from the pledge fee to pay for the coin.
• Any active member that wishes to purchase an additional coin (or more) may do so. They simply need to contact the Alumni Association.
• Any alumnus or alumna that wishes to purchase a coin (or more) may do so. They simply need to contact the Alumni Association. This includes coins intended as a donation to another alum, an active, a pledge (upon activation) or any of the people listed below.

Coins may be awarded by the house or member(s) to non-members that are affiliated with the house in some way. Only an active member or full alum may gift a challenge coin to a non-member. Non-members to whom coins may be gifted should be limited to:

• Social members
• Honorary members
• House advisors
• Other friendly or helpful (over the long-term) administration members
• Children of members (aka "microTaus")

What are the rules and neo-traditional customs revolving around the coin?

Quite obviously, the rather elaborate rules noted above after the origin of the challenge coin are a bit much. To date, the following guidelines have been suggested:

• Only active members and full alumni (those that were once active members) may purchase coins. They may purchase coins for themselves, to donate to newly activating members, or to gift to non-members that they feel might appreciate the coin.
• No decision has been made, yet, with regard to the purchase of a Tau challenge coin by an alumnus of the Zeta Tau chapter of Sigma Nu or by members of the pre-Sigma Nu incarnation of Theta Sigma Tau, Sanford House, or the Elms Club. The issue has not arisen, to date.
• The coin should be treated with a reasonable amount of respect, but we're not going to establish guidelines about how to carry the coin (in a pocket, wallet, whatever).
• Coins may be mounted onto a memorial plaque for an active or alum that has died. The plaque can be retained by the alum's widowed spouse or may be donated to the house to be mounted in the library of the house.
•  
• Any active or alum can initiate a coin check by producing their coin and clearly announcing their intent to initiate a coin check.
  • All actives and alumni present must, within 30 seconds, produce their own coin.
  • Any active or alum that cannot produce a coin must buy a round of drinks for those that were able to present their own coins. This could lead to multiple rounds if more than one active or alum could not present a coin.
  • If all actives and alumni present are able to present a coin, the person issuing the challenge must buy a round of drinks for all of those that produced a coin.
• Social members, honoraries, and other non-member coin-holders may NOT initiate a coin-check nor may they participate in a coin-check.
  This is not intended to unfairly exclude these non-members but, because not ALL eligible non-members will have been gifted a coin, requiring ALL to participate would be unfair. Permitting eligible non-members to voluntarily participate could lead to abuse of the privilege, permitting less ethical eligible non-members to only participate when it serves their purpose.

How much does a coin cost?

The price is $7/coin. This price is far lower than most challenge coins tend to run (usually between $10 and $20) and will still permit the Alumni Association to bank a slight bit of cash (approx. $1/coin) which will be used to facilitate future orders of this Challenge Coin or other activities/expenses of the Alumni Association.

Coins come in a soft, transparent plastic sleeve. For an additional $1, one can purchase a hard plastic case (pictured above) that will better protect the coin. The case is slightly oversized in diameter, but there is a foam spacer to ensure that the coin is held in position. This spacer can be white or black, at the choice of the purchaser. These cases can be purchased separately at a later date.

If one wishes additional protection, or to be able to display the coin in a nice setting, one can purchase a blue velvet display case designed to hold the hard plastic case noted above. The blue velvet case is $4.50, a price that does not include the hard case.

To order a coin for yourself or to be donated to someone else:

Item	Cost/unit
Theta Sigma Tau Challenge Coin	$7.00
Hard plastic protective case (white or black surround)	$1.00
Blue velvet display box	$4.50
•   •   •   •   •
Ordering	Shipping cost
1 coin	$1.00
2 coins or 1 coin & 1 hard case	$1.30
3 coins or 2 coins & 1 or 2 hard cases	$1.60
4 coins or 3 coins & 1 - 3 hard cases	$1.90
Basically, 70¢ plus 30¢ per coin/1-2 cases.
To include one or more blue velvet boxes contact Plenz about shipping costs.
To get an exact quote on shipping cost of any combo, contact Plenz.

1. Contact Plenz to tell him how many coins, cases, and boxes you wish to order for yourself and if you wish to order any as a donation to the house.
2. Purchasers are asked to pay for the cost of any coins they order ($7/each) plus shipping and Paypal fees. Shipping charges do not apply to donated coins, which are delivered to the House personally by Plenz.
3. All coins come in a soft plastic protective sleeve. If you would prefer the hard plastic protective case, like the one in the above pictures, they cost an extra $1. With these cases you have the option of having a black (shown) or white border (protective foam that goes around the circumference of the coin). Treat each hard plastic case as an additional coin for purposes of calculating shipping due to the additional size and weight.
4. The blue velvet cases cost $4.50 each, and require that the coin be placed inside one of the hard plastic cases noted above (an additional $1).
5. If you need one or more coins mailed to you, the cost of shipping is based upon the size and weight of the package. Some guidelines are listed in the table to the right.
6. To pay you can either send a check or money order or use Paypal...
   • PREFERRED METHOD (apart from handing Plenz cash in person): Send a cheque or money order to...
     Peter Lenz
     118 S. Wilson St.
     Fredonia, WI 53021
   • Alternative but less preferred method:: Purchase with a credit card on-line using PayPal... This is not the preferred method because it will cost the purchaser a little more money: Paypal deducts a charge from the amount of the transaction, meaning that a payment of $7 results in an actual payment to the Alumni Association of $6.45 while PayPal makes 55¢:
     • Approximately 55¢ for the first $7
     • An additional 25¢ for each additional $7.
     Thus, people using Paypal to pay for their coins are asked to cover the surcharge.
     Contact Plenz to arrange something else.

All prices and charges are just a little more than the cost to the Alumni Association: we're not in this to make money. The small amount of profit (just over $1/coin, for example) will be used to defray the costs associated with maintaining the House and Alumni websites ($100/year for the server) and will also be used towards additional orders of these coins or a possible Centennial Coin.

If you have questions, email Plenz and ask away.