PTSD, Challenge Coins, and one Author’s Incredible Story
We have the privilege of interacting with people from all walks of life who need our product. Sometimes they want an award for excellence, other times a gift for cancer survivors, club membership tokens, and countless other options. Recently, one of our customers had an incredible story behind his coin project that we had to share!
James Rosone is best known for being an Amazon Top 100 Best-selling Author, but he is much more than that. James is a former interrogator for the US Army and the Air Force. He’s spent 18 years of his life serving as a soldier and as a DoD contractor. During that span, he paid a tremendous price – PTSD.
At one time it was naively dubbed “shell shock” or “battle fatigue”. Now we know PTSD as a mental wound caused by traumatic events. It can have serious or even debilitating symptoms depending on the severity.
While employed, James’ PTSD was more or less manageable, but then the news came that he was being let go from his work in the defense sector. Shortly afterward, his security clearance expired, and with it his life-long career. Without work to help balance James’ life, challenges from his illness began to appear. James found himself depressed, unemployed, and with 3 mouths to feed. How was he going to make ends meet?
James made a brave choice to go to the VA for help with his symptoms. A counselor there suggested writing war stories as a way to process his PTSD. James gave it a try, and it worked! He made it his mission to write a complete book, which he did. James then teamed up with his wife Miranda and the two started their own company, Frontline Publishing. Over the course of 5 years, the two of them have written 22 successful books and have secured an incredible 6 figure income.
James’ latest endeavor has been finding a way to thank his readers for their contribution to his accomplishments. It didn’t take him long to settle on challenge coins as his gift of choice.
“In the military, a challenge coin is given to someone for going above and beyond … [w]e owe our success to hard work and our readers.”
The Frontline Publishing coin is plated in real gold with a three dimensional soldier on one side, and 5 military seals on the back, recognizing all who have served. One of the most significant parts of the coin is also the smallest: on each coin there is a unique serial number, making it personal and exclusive to the reader who receives one.
“Providing our readers with a numbered and serialized challenge coin is our way of saying thank you to those on our advance reader teams.”
For James, challenge coins have proven to be a thoughtful gift as well as an effective way to grow his business and increase his connection with his readers. In his newest science fiction book series, Rise of the Republic, James is creating a line of collectible challenge coins. Each coin will have a unique starship from the book.
“[…Challenge coins] allow our readers to have something tangible they can hold and show off to their friends. “
We’ve been absolutely honored to help James with his challenge coin projects. His incredible story is just one of many that inspire the coins we make every day.
Now, what’s your story? What will your coin look like?
At All About Challenge Coins, we don’t have a product: our “product” is your idea made into a coin.
Get started today! The process is simple, and you don’t have to be an artist. We have a fully staffed team of graphics designers that will help and guide you through the process, and the best part is that it’s FREE! You can get started by clicking the link below, or simply send us an e-mail at allaboutchallengecoins.com.
