History Main / MembershipToken

** ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'': The "Nine Pieces of Whatever We Happened to Have in Our Pockets at The Time".

** In the US Air Force, airmen are issued their first challenge coin, called an Airman's Coin, when they graduate Basic Training. Effectively, this means nobody in the Air Force has any excuse at all not to have a coin on them. Those who argue that they don't respond to coin checks because the coin is too important to them are CompletelyMissingThePoint (again, SeriousBusiness.)

* In ''One Lonely Night,'' Literature/MikeHammer finds a card cut into odd angles on the body of a gunman and shows it to his FriendOnTheForce, who explains it's used as a method of identification by communists, who change the angles on the cards to trip up spies. Before this happens, Hammer is able to use the card to infiltrate a local Communist cell.

* In ''Series/{{NCIS}}'', in one episode, Tony and Ziva are [[spoiler:captured in a mock war games event and]] met by a man who talks with them briefly, hands them a coin before leaving. Ziva, confused, asks what happened. Tony replies two things, something bigger than them is going on, and two, they will never have to buy drinks at a coin challenge again. The man who gave them his coin? The Secretary of the Navy of the United States.

* In the US, long medical coats are for attending physicians and residents. Medical students are sometimes referred to as "short coats."

* A non-physical token is called a shibboleth, after a passage in the Book of Judges of the Bible. This can include gang signs, accents, particular jargon, insider knowledge of particular customs, and so on. For example, anyone who pronounces Houston street in New York City the same way the city in Texas is pronounced is immediately branded a tourist.
** AA members call themselves "friends of Bill W."
** Pacific theater US soldiers used the world "lollapalooza" due to the difficulty it would give native speakers of Japanese.
** Less pleasantly, conspicuous use of certain numbers are callouts and dog-whistles to white supremacist hate groups.
--> And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: and it was so, that when those Ephraimites which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites forty and two thousand. - Judges 12:5–6 KJV

** In some fields, this is less likely than in others. For example, this troper is an aerospace maintainer, one of the first fields (along with pilots from the Army Air Corps era) to practice this tradition. However, he never has his coin on him. Why? It's considered [[TurbineBlender foreign debris]] and can cause mechanical failure. So, while coining may be still practiced, and said coins are collected, the practice of challenging changes from unit to unit and field to field. This troper was taught that only three kinds of guys do challenges: Nonners [[note]]Airmen who are not aircraft maintainers[[/note]], cheapskates, and fresh airmen--none of which you want to be associated with.

* In ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena,'' the ring with the rose crest instantly identifies Utena as a Rose Duelist to her fellow Duelists, and [[CoolKey allows entry]] to the Secret Forest. But Utena herself no knowledge of the purpose of the ring; she had been carrying it for years as a [[MementoMacGuffin memento of her prince]], who said it would [[BatmanGambit lead her back to him]]. Though the the true meaning of the ring is... complicated.

* Challenge Coins date back to a squadron of American pilots during UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. One of the pilots, fairly well-off, decided to have a set of coins minted with their squadron's name on it for his squadron mates to have as keepsakes. One of these pilots was shot down, captured, and deprived of his military identification by German troops. An artillery barrage caused enough confusion for him to escape to the Allied lines, where he was able to prove his not being a German spy only by presenting his squadron's coin to the Allied troops. Ever since then, failure to present your coin when challenged results in a severe punishment. That is to say, you [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment buying beers for everybody who has their coins]]. Failing a "Coin Check" while in a large drinking establishment can become...expensive. You can be challenged at any time. Even when you're on the toilet or in the shower. It's [[SeriousBusiness sacred tradition]].
** However, ''because'' it can be so expensive (easily running into the hundreds of dollars, depending on size of the group) many commanding officers have started to forbid the practice outright, or at least severely limit it to very small groups of no more than a certain number and only among personnel of approximately equal rank. Bottom line, many junior enlisted personnel simply don't make enough money to pick up a large bar tab without it meaning they won't be able to afford rent or groceries that month. An officer is asking to get his ass chewed to a bloody rag if his C.O. finds out he coined a group of enlisted men and had one of them pay for all the drinks, including his own.

** It is very common for specific groups within the military (ie: a particular Squadron or Company, or a group of soldiers who worked together on some endeavor) to mint coins specific to them, or to commemorate special events.

** In some fields this is less likely than others. For example, this troper is an aerospace maintainer, one of the first fields along with pilots from the army air core era to practice this tradition. However he never has his coin on him. Why? It's considered [[TurbineBlender foreign debris]] and can cause mechanical failure. So while coining may be still practiced and said coins are collected, the practice of challenging changes from unit to unit and field to field. This trope was taught that only three kinds of guys do challenges, nonners[[note]]Airmen who are not aircraft maintainers[[/note]], cheapskates, and fresh airmen. All of which you don't want to be associated with.

* Many [[TheEngineer engineers]] in the United States and Canada wear cast iron or stainless steel rings on the little finger of their writing hand. This way, whenever they use a pen or pencil, the ring will drag across the writing surface and/or bite into the skin slightly (The Iron Ring used in Canada is faceted rather than completely round, unlike the Engineer's Ring used in the US), reminding them of their [[ComesGreatResponsibility responsibility as engineers.]] Of course, the ring also helps fellow engineers identify each other when out in public.

** In some fields this is less likely than others. For example, this troper is an aerospace maintainer, one of the first fields along with pilots from the army air core era to practice this tradition. However her never has his coin on him. Why? It's considered [[TurbineBlender foreign debris]] and can cause mechanical failure. So while coining may be still practiced and said coins are collected, the practice of challenging changes from unit to unit and field to field. This trope was taught that only three kinds of guys do challenges, nonners[[note]]Airmen who are not aircraft maintainers[[/note]], cheapskates, and fresh airmen. All of which you don't want to be associated with.

** In ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms the Harpers have a symbol they use to identify each other: a small silver harp. After the Moonstars did split off, they use their own variant of the same. Cormyr has Purple Dragons' rings and commanders' rings that (aside of minor magics) allow access to restricted and magically protected areas, like the armory in Purple Dragons' barracks. Of course, these items are badges of service and possession of one by someone not entitled to this is a crime.

See also CallingCard and MyCard. Can overlap with IconicItem for some of the more famous examples.

* In Don Pendleton's ''Literature/TheExecutioner'' stories, top Mafia enforcers used aces (playing cards) to identify themselves to other Mafia members. Unfortunatly Mack Bolan finds out and often poses as a Black Ace himself.

* In Don Pendleton's ''Literature/TheExecutioner'' stories, top Mafia enforcers used aces (playing cards) to identify themselves to other Mafia members.

* The {{Animorphs}} once run into a detachment of Hork-Bajir guards wearing blue armbands, fittingly called the elite Blue Band Squadron. In a later mission, Tobias notes Marco's shirt is the same color, so they rip it up and wear the bands in Hork-Bajir morph. Every Controller stays well out of their way.

* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'':

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* In ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena,'' the ring with the rose crest instantly identifies Utena as a Rose Duelist to her fellow Duelists, and [[CoolKey allows entry]] to the Secret Forest. But Utena herself no knowledge of the purpose of the ring; she had been carrying it for years as a [[MementoMacGuffin memento of her prince]], who said it would [[BatmanGambit lead her back to him]]. Though the the true meaning of the ring is... [[{{Deconstruction}} complicated]].

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** In ForgottenRealms the Harpers have a symbol they use to identify each other: a small silver harp. After the Moonstars did split off, they use their own variant of the same. Cormyr has Purple Dragons' rings and commanders' rings that (aside of minor magics) allow access to restricted and magically protected areas, like the armory in Purple Dragons' barracks. Of course, these items are badges of service and possession of one by someone not entitled to this is a crime.

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* A minor GottaCatchEmAll sidequest in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' had you searching the galaxy for medallions belonging to members of the League Of One, a Salarian precurser to the Spectres.

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* ''Call Of Cthulhu'' supplement ''The Asylum and Other Tales'', adventure "The Asylum". Freygan's cultists have recognition symbols: small stones with thongs for wearing around the neck. They are rarely used since all nearby cult members know each other by sight.
* Dungeons And Dragons. AD&D 2 ed. has some spells working via designated tokens -- including "pass-cards" for warding spells and focus for mass [[DoppelgangerSpin mirror image]].

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* In Don Pendleton's ''TheExecutioner'' stories, top Mafia enforcers used aces (playing cards) to identify themselves to other Mafia members.

Why, then you need a MembershipToken! This token is something discreet, yet distinctive, that you use to identify yourself to your fellows but isn't readily familiar to outsiders. It might be some rare or specific item (possibly even some sort of MacGuffin) that not just anyone would have, or something more common but otherwise difficult to get, such as one of a relatively small set of coins with a distinct design.

* In the ''Film/WingCommander'' movie, Taggart is able to earn the trust of the ''[[CoolShip Tiger Claw's]]'' captain because he has [[spoiler:an [[MilitaryAcademy Annapolis]] class ring, from the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarTwo Class of 1942]], specifically a family heirloom of Admiral Tolwyn's, which he would not have parted with easily, indicating that Taggart held Tolwyn's implicit trust.]] Among the setting's Pilgrims, the Pilgrims' crosses serve the same purpose.

* Challenge Coins date back to a squadron of American pilots during WorldWarOne. One of the pilots, fairly well-off, decided to have a set of coins minted with their squadron's name on it for his squadron mates to have as keepsakes. One of these pilots was shot down, captured, and deprived of his military identification by German troops. An artillery barrage caused enough confusion for him to escape to the Allied lines, where he was able to prove his not being a German spy only by presenting his squadron's coin to the Allied troops. Ever since then, failure to present your coin when challenged results in a severe punishment. That is to say, you [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment buying beers for everybody who has their coins]]. Failing a "Coin Check" while in a large drinking establishment can become...expensive. You can be challenged at any time. Even when you're on the toilet or in the shower. It's [[SeriousBusiness sacred tradition]].