I can tell you how it happened, but I didn't do it.” He reinforces the fact that he’s achieved his 15th anniversary of sobriety with the support of the group. When Bill is presented with a coin, he advises the group, “All I can ever say is, I didn't do it. The group will then ask, “How did you do this?” This is an important question as the group wants to hear how a person achieved the goal of sobriety. The coin presentation is a celebration and is presented by a sponsor or AA member. Bill mentions, “I remember when 30-minutes felt like a long time.” But the first month of sobriety can feel like a lifetime. It’s a big deal to receive a coin! The 30-day coin is the most celebrated, although that doesn’t take away from the significance of the other milestones. How does the group celebrate when someone receives a coin? So I need to stay sober for 24 hours, and that's why I carry a 24-hour token.” It’s a day-by-day process, and the 24-hour coin is his reminder. I tell the boys around here that every morning, I wake up with some form of untreated alcoholism. I carry a 24-hour token because that's all I get, if I get that. When chatting about the 24-hour coin, Bill says, “That's what I carry every day. The coins can be purchased online or at AA meetings. Yearly tokens are then given out to members for every year of sobriety. From there, every month is celebrated until the first anniversary. If an individual has been sober for 24-hours and speaks up in a meeting, they will receive a 24-hour beginner’s token. How does someone get a coin?Ĭoins are presented in AA meetings when a member achieves a sobriety milestone. The origin remains a mystery, but it doesn’t take away from the impact and importance of the AA coins today. The people she gave the medallions to may have continued the tradition in AA meetings. When they left the hospital, she would present them with a Sacred Heart Medallion to remind them of their commitment to their sobriety. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio started the tradition. Letters between early members indicate that individual members chose to carry coins to remind them of the importance of their sobriety and their dedication to the program.Īnother possibility is that Sister Ignatia at St. At that time, it wasn’t unusual for members to travel fairly long distances to attend AA meetings. That makes it difficult to track down the origination of the coins, but it’s believed that the coins started with a group of individual AA members in Indianapolis in 1942. The group as a whole has no association with the coins, even though they are commonly called AA coins or AA chips. The coins have held many names over the years, including:Īn interesting tidbit about AA coins is that Alcoholics Anonymous doesn’t recognize the coins as part of the process of recovery.

He can often be seen welcoming new clients and offering his support to them. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.” Bill currently works as the Maintenance Supervisor at Tara. This time around, the 12-step program stuck, and he recently celebrated his 15th “birthday party” of sobriety.īill likes to say, “I'm just a client that never left.

They were right.” Bill came back for treatment ten years later. He remembers, “The old guys told me that if I did that, I was going to regret it. It worked for a while, but he started to prioritize other things than his sobriety. Tell us a little bit about yourself & how you came to work at Tara Treatment Center.īill came to Tara 25 years ago as a client. We had a chance to sit down with Tara’s own Bill Richmond to chat about the meaning and purpose of an AA coin, and the impact they have on his own sobriety every day. But what is the history behind the coins, and what do they represent? How do the coins impact people as they strive to reach sobriety?

It’s a lifelong commitment that needs to constantly be chosen. The process of recovery is a journey that doesn’t end with a final AA meeting.

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