I'm with CarolD on all this.....I've seen all kinds of chips/medallions, and also many groups that don't use them at all (boo/hiss/grrrrrr.....LOLOL).
"...The only commonality I've seen in this process is that the first chip is almost always white..."
I had to stare that line down till I finally saw that 'almost always' ----- lol (I guess my eyesight really is going..... 'n sailorjohn put in what I was going to say......at our Lambda AA Center [my home groups(s)], here in Houston, we have aluminum 'starter' chip which we call a 'desire' chip, for anyone who has a desire to stop drinking----- (o: Of course, we do have one fella, who when giving out chips calls them bus tokens to paradise (complete with his very heavy Hispanic accent.....lol), with the 'desire' bus token for anyone who wants to get on the bus................ (o:
The chips here are usually given out to mark milestones in folks' recovery (of course only as it applies to 'time'---but that's a good start; one can't have any 'quality' if they don't have any quantity). .....'n our 'milestones' haven't changed since the time I got my first (and only) desire chip.....with ONE eensy, teensy, tiny, minor exception.....: we have 30, 60, and 90 day chips (one, two, and three month chips, for those not counting specific 'days'); then one has to wait three months for their six month, nine month (heavy metal, just like the year medallions; whoopie), and then the monthly Anniversary Night celebration, for the yearly chips/coins. Since so many folks said it was really hard to have to then wait a whole year for their next chip/coin, well, they incorporated an eighteen month chip/coin into the mix-----what we oldsters refer to as the 'resentment chip/coin' ---- lolol
Going back to what CarolD suggested earlier----searching out recovery stores online, I found a great site.....'n got me a chip/coin that I don't have to replace/renew every year. It's called a 'New Life' chip/coin; On one side it has a sun with the words 'This day my new life began' and on the back my sobriety is etched in-----really nice, and so much easier than getting a one year, a two year.....etc., etc., etc.; so much easier with only one....... (o:
So, hold, aintcha glad you asked your question; clear as mud now isn't it?..........LOLOL
NoelleR
P.S. Just a quick question, holdfold; you wrote, "...explain the different chips you get in AA.... I went a different route..." .....?.....a different route?...like NA, or CA, or............?? eh?