The History of the Challenge Coin is thought to date as far back as the Roman Empire, but a popular legend is that it originated during World War I when a wealthy officer had coins struck for the men in his unit. When an Air Service pilot was shot down behind enemy lines, he escaped, but had no identification. Captured by the French, he was able to produce the coin his friend had given him, which showed that he was an ally, and preventing the French from executing him as an enemy spy. Although this story has never been proved, the reality is that custom coins, challenge coins and custom militaria make a great way to show membership in a group and to remember the sacrifices made by the veterans.
RECORDARE – the latin word for ‘remember’ – is owned and operated by a small team of ex SADF members, including a decorated combat-wounded veteran. RECORDARE is fast building a reputation for industry-leading challenge coins, event medals and general militaria of the highest quality. Whether you are in the military, law enforcement, sport, business or civilian sector, RECORDARE is perfect for recognizing unit affiliation, personal achievement or promoting special events.
At RECORDARE we are very proud of the consistent quality of our coins from inception, to design and the final product. We craft from your vision while adding our expertise to give each coin a unique identity. We are able to handle bulk orders, but we are also able to stock your coins in our store for purchase by our customer base.
At RECORDARE we only sell official and approved unit merchandise – this means that Special Forces approves of our Special Forces merchandise; the same goes for our other items where the relevant veterans association has given us their official authorisation. We sell merchandise to both veterans (of the specific units) as well as to collectors – if we are commissioned to supply an item for members only, it will not be available in our RECORDARE store. Collectors will know that their support of a specific unit is always appreciated and is often instrumental in preserving the history of that unit – this must never be confused/mistaken for a wannabee trying to ‘steal valor’ by pretending to be somebody they are not. Beware of buying un-approved or unofficial merchandise from internet sellers; if a signed certificate of authenticity is not available with an item, ask “why not?”
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or requests.