Life as a recovering addict is fraught with untold challenges. With drug-related cues all around us, managing the ever-present risks of relapse may need a little extra motivation, such as mindfulness meditation and AA sobriety medallions.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global fellowship dedicated to helping people struggling with alcohol abuse achieve and maintain sobriety using a spiritually inclined program. The organization has been instrumental in assisting thousands of chronic alcoholics worldwide to quit the habit.
AA provides several incentives that enable its members to combat the scourge of addiction. A notable mention is sobriety tokens issued to recovering addicts, encouraging them to celebrate various milestones achieved in their recovery journey.
If you’ve just enrolled in an Alcoholics Anonymous program and are wondering what the organization’s tokens are all about, then you’ll find this article quite useful. Here’s everything you need to know about AA tokens.
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Introducing AA Tokens
Alcoholics Anonymous tokens are tangible sobriety incentives given primarily to AA members, celebrating the duration a person has been sober. The tokens are available as coins, chips, or medallions. They’re typically the size of a poker chip, measuring 1.34 inches (34 millimeters) to 1.5 inches (39 millimeters) in diameter.
Recipients must have been alcohol-free for certain predetermined periods, which range from twenty-four hours to one year.
The demand for extra incentives among recovering alcoholics has translated to a tremendous surge in the number of high-end retailers dealing in AA medallions. A simple online search is all it takes to find AA chips in order, depending on the milestone achieved.
Are AA Tokens Copyrighted Products?
Alcoholics Anonymous is arguably the world’s largest community of (former and current) alcohol addicts. That explains why most sobriety tokens you’ll encounter bear the initials AA.
However, AA medallions may be issued to members of other sobriety organizations.
In fact, many manufacturers of AA coins today aren’t necessarily affiliated with Alcoholics Anonymous. Some aren’t associated with any sobriety program at all.
The only condition is that AA token recipients must have accomplished a 12-step program.
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Who Manufactures AA Tokens?
Wendells Inc. based in Ramsey, Minnesota, was the first company to manufacture AA medallions in 1973. That was more than 38 years after Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in Akron, Ohio. Many companies have since joined the fray, ostensibly to cash in on the craze for sobriety coins.
But while Wendells was the first company to manufacture AA tokens, the history of sobriety chips goes way back. In fact, these medallions predate AA itself.
Before Alcoholics Anonymous was founded, numerous temperance societies issued coins and medallions to people who committed to pursuing sobriety. The difference here is that recipients didn’t necessarily need to have achieved specific milestones in their sobriety journey. A mere pledge was often all it took to receive a medallion.
The fact that the sobriety medallions’ industry is relatively unregulated leaves manufacturers with full control over their coins’ appearance and manner of issuance.
Manufacturers determine how long a person ought to have remained sober to receive an AA medallion. They may also come up with different sobriety products depending on their target clientele.
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AA Medallion Colors – What Do They Signify?
Alcoholics Anonymous medallions are color-coded, with each color representing specific milestones achieved. Below are the AA chip colors and the sobriety durations they signify;
- Silver – 24 hours
- Red – 30 days or one month
- Gold – 30 days or two months
- Green – 90 days or three months
- Purple – 120 days or four months
- Pink – Five months
- Dark blue – Six months
- Copper – Seven months
- Red – Eight months
- Purple – Nine months
- Gold – Ten months
- Green – Eleven months
- Bronze – One year
In addition to the above colors, there are special AA chips available in different novelty colors, metals, and designs. For instance, recovering addicts may receive silver- or gold-plated medallions as special symbols of their successes.
Besides, all the chips issued after one year of sobriety are usually made of or coated with bronze.
How Do I Get AA Medallions
To qualify for an AA token, you must have enrolled in a sobriety program that culminates in issuing these coins.
Estimates by the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous indicate that there were some 58,000 AA groups in the United States. This number has expectedly grown exponentially due to the increased awareness of AA over the years.
Besides enrolling in an Alcoholics Anonymous program, you must also attend AA meetings regularly. During these meetings, you’d be able to share your sobriety story, after which the facilitator would deal out a token depending on the achievements made.
The good news is that you don’t need to be in a program sponsored by Alcoholics Anonymous itself to benefit from AA medallions. The course could also be offered by any sobriety fellowship or organization.
Just ensure you’re honest about your substance abuse. Your group leader may have no way of establishing that you’ve been sober for the stated duration. However, lying would be ultimately detrimental to your recovery journey.
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Wrap Up
Alcoholics Anonymous tokens serve as a constant reminder of the various significant milestones the recipient has achieved on their road to an alcohol-free lifestyle. The chips are color-coded to celebrate a specific duration a person has been sober.
AA chips also help a recovering alcoholic stay motivated in the often-treacherous journey toward sobriety. And for people who’ve achieved the highest levels of sobriety, Alcoholics Anonymous medallions serve as a stark reminder of the struggles the recipient went through during their addiction years.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
