Recovery Chips

Each major recovery program has its own chip tradition, its own color system, and its own way of marking milestones. Understanding the differences helps you find the right chip — whether you're shopping for yourself, for a sponsee, or for a family member whose program you're still learning about.

AA chips are the original. Alcoholics Anonymous has been handing out metal chips since the early 1940s, when Clarence Snyder's Cleveland group started using poker chips to mark sobriety milestones. Today's AA chips follow a well-known color sequence — white for 24 hours, gold for 30 days, red for 60, green for 90, blue for 6 months, purple for 9 months, bronze for 1 year — and metal chips are given at every milestone from the first day forward. AA's chip tradition is the oldest and most widely recognized in recovery culture. For program-specific options, see our AA coins collection.

NA key tags and medallions represent a different approach. Narcotics Anonymous uses lightweight plastic key tags for clean-time milestones through the first year, with metal medallions beginning at the 1-year anniversary. The color sequence is distinct from AA: white for the welcome tag, orange for 30 days, green for 60, red for 90, blue for 6 months, yellow for 9 months, and moonglow for 1 year. The key-tag-to-medallion transition at one year is one of the most meaningful moments in NA recovery. For NA-specific designs, see our NA coins collection.

Celebrate Recovery chips are rooted in the Christian faith-based recovery tradition. CR uses its own coin designs, often featuring scripture references, the CR logo, and milestone markings that align with the program's step structure. Celebrate Recovery operates within churches nationwide and uses chips to mark milestones much as AA and NA do, with an explicitly faith-centered framework. See our Celebrate Recovery coins collection for CR-specific designs.

SMART Recovery takes a different path entirely. The Self-Management and Recovery Training program is non-12-step and secular, emphasizing cognitive-behavioral tools over spiritual frameworks. SMART Recovery has no official chip or token tradition — the program doesn't formalize physical milestone markers. But that doesn't mean milestones don't matter to SMART participants. Many people in SMART Recovery choose to buy premium recovery chips on their own, selecting designs that resonate personally rather than following a program-prescribed system.

Other programs have their own variations. Al-Anon, for families of people with alcohol use disorder, sometimes uses chips at meetings. Gamblers Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous have adapted the AA chip tradition for their own milestone structures. Refuge Recovery, a Buddhist-inspired program, emphasizes meditation tokens. Youth-focused recovery programs often adapt chip traditions with age-appropriate designs. Across every program, recovery chips serve the same purpose: making the invisible visible.

Whatever your tradition, the milestone deserves an object built to match it. Our collection includes recovery chips designed for AA, NA, Celebrate Recovery, and program-agnostic milestones — all handcrafted in cast bronze, silver, or gold with deep engraving that holds up to years of daily carry.

For people in programs without an official chip tradition, or in cross-program recovery where no single design feels right, our custom token flow lets you build a recovery chip from scratch. Choose your material, your imagery, your engraving, and your milestone — or describe what you want and let our team design it. Recovery chips are personal objects. The one you carry should feel like yours, regardless of which room you got sober in.