The Importance of the AA Chip: All You Need to Know

on Oct 3, 2021

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Like every big challenge we might face in life, a battle with alcoholism deserves a reward. The AA has around 2.1 million members worldwide and is one of the leading services for fighting alcoholism.

An individual’s fight against alcoholism can last a lifetime, so there must be milestones along the way to help remind recovering alcoholics of how far they’ve come. An AA chip is just one of these milestones. Let’s take a closer look.

What Is an AA Chip?

An AA chip, sometimes called an AA medallion, is a token presented to Alcoholics Anonymous members. They are presented at different times in an individual’s journey to mark specific milestones.

They are not compulsory for AA groups, but they are successful in marking an individual’s achievement on their road to sobriety.

What Do Different AA Coins Mean?

AA coins come in a variety of different colors. Each color usually symbolizes a certain amount of time since the individual last touched a drop of alcohol. The coins that individuals receive during their first year of sobriety are usually made from aluminum or silver-plated.

Most AA groups give their members a silver chip to mark their first 24 hours of sobriety. This symbolizes the beginning of their journey. After this, different colored coins are given after one, two, three, six, and nine months of sobriety.

When an individual abstains from alcohol for a whole year, they receive a special bronze coin. After this point, members of the AA program receive a new coin after every year of sobriety.

Different AA chips can be purchased for AA groups from online stores such as TheTokenShop.

The History of AA Recovery Chips

As previously mentioned, the use of AA recovery chips or medallions is not compulsory for all AA groups. Each AA group has its local autonomy. That being said, the use of AA chips seems to date back to 1939.

The AA was founded by Bob Smith, often referred to as Dr. Bob. In the early days, a nun by the name of Sister Mary Ignatia worked alongside him at the St. Thomas Hospital in Ohio.

When an alcoholic came to detox at the hospital, Sister Mary Ignatia would give them a sacred heart medallion. She should inform individuals that by receiving the medallion, they were committing to God, recovery, and the AA.

If an individual decided to drink after receiving the medallion, Sister Mary Ignatia asked that they returned the medallion before drinking alcohol again. The tangible reminder was thought to help those on the road to recovery.

In 1942, different AA groups began to elaborate on Sister MaryIgnatia’ss sacred heart medallions. This is how the AA chip came into existence.

The Importance of the AA Chip

The AA chip has become synonymous with success. They mark key milestones in an “alcoholics’’ recovery and give them a tangible reminder of how far they have come on their journey.

As with every challenge we might face in life, it is important to remember what we have achieved. This is exactly what the AA chip does for recovering alcoholics.

For more interesting articles from all walks of life, be sure to check out the rest of our blog.