What Does It Mean to Be Given a Challenge Coin?

Are you thinking of giving a reward to someone whom you admire? Is there someone whom you wish to reward for their service and achievements?

You should consider giving a challenge coin. Challenge coins are an exclusive gift given to private members of an organization, including secret societies.

They serve as a “key” to enter a private meeting and enjoy the benefits of the meeting.

But what does it mean to be given a challenge coin? How did the tradition of challenge coins begin?

Let’s start with learning what is a challenge coin:

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What Is a Challenge Coin?

A challenge coin is a custom-designed coin that signifies membership in an organization. It’s given to someone who has made strides in their industry or niche.

Custom challenge coins were originally started for military members. This was a way to honor them for their military service.

Upon retirement, these veterans would use their challenge coins to enter private meetings to meet their compatriots. To this day, CustomChallengeCoins Navy challenge coins are especially popular among veterans.

The challenge coin became necessary to enter these private meetings. They were often used in place of a secret handshake or password.

Custom challenge coins are now popular not just for military members, but for members of any organization or private club.

Let’s now look a bit deeper at how challenge coins became popular:

The Roman Times

Challenge coins also had a role in Ancient Roman society. Challenge coins were given to the brave soldiers of the Roman Army. These custom challenge coins showcased their achievements, their unit, and their name.

The most prestigious families in Ancient Rome also had custom challenge coins. Children would get gifted custom challenge coins with the family name and his or her portrait as they matured.

These challenge coins were used to enter private meetings and have exclusive access to special events.

But how did challenge coins become popular once again in the 20th and 21st centuries?

The First World War

During the First World War, there was an American lieutenant who was in charge of an air squadron.

His plane was gunned down and he was captured by German forces. He feared for his life and eventually escaped Germany. He managed to cross borders and reach France, where he was found by the French Allies.

The French Allies initially suspected this American soldier of being an enemy. But he managed to save himself because of his challenge coin.

The American soldier had a bronze medallion emblazoned with the symbol of his air squadron. The French soldiers saw this medallion and realized that the American soldier was an ally.

Upon his return home, the American soldier told the story of how his medallion saved his life. It soon became a tradition that veterans would have medallions in the form of challenge coins.

Today, military challenge coins help veterans identify each other. They build fraternal bonds when they come across other veterans with the same challenge coins.

Veterans can enjoy exclusive dinners or happy hours at private meetings by presenting their challenge coins.

When to Give a Challenge Coin

So when’s the best time to give a challenge coin to someone?

If you’re giving a challenge coin to a soldier, you want to wait until their honorable discharge. You want to present the challenge coin to them at their discharging ceremony.

If you run a secret society or fraternal organization, you can give out a challenge coin at an initiation ceremony.

During this ceremony, you can hand the new member a challenge coin. You’ll also explain the protocol and etiquette regarding the challenge coin.

For most private organizations, you want to insist that your members keep their challenge coins safe. They should not display it in public and should never let non-members see it.

Often, at private meetings, a member has to present their challenge coin to enter. They might also have to make a gesture with their challenge coin which serves as a password.

In some cases, all members have to raise their challenge coins in the air for the meeting to commence. Challenge coins also give the member exclusive access to products or services at the meeting.

How to Design a Challenge Coin

So now you know what it means to be given a challenge coin and want to give one out to someone. But how do you make a great challenge coin?

You want to first consider the material you wish to make. Most challenge coins get made from gold bullion. You can also choose silver or copper to create your challenge coins.

You then should imprint the seal of your organization on one side of the coin. On the other side, you can put the member’s name. You can also put the motto of the organization on this side.

As a general rule, you want your challenge coin to be small. As it’s meant to be discreet, it should easily fit into one’s pocket.