How To Get Challenge Coins
People usually get challenge coins by earning them through military service, group membership, exceptional performance, or meeting a commander, government official, or other senior leader. If you have ever wondered “how do you get a challenge coin?”, the short answer is that someone presents one to mark belonging, service, trust, or achievement. That meaning is one reason challenge coins remain important in the military, emergency services, law enforcement agencies, government organizations, and civilian groups, and it also helps explain how challenge coins are used today.
Why Earning a Challenge Coin Matters
Organizations typically make challenge coins from metal such as bronze or brass, and they etch a military unit or organization’s insignia into the design. People keep the coins as reminders of allegiance, honor, and respect.
A Sign of Honor
People generally regard receiving a custom challenge coin as an honor. They treat it with care and keep it with them. Military unit commanders often present challenge coins to individuals or entire units at special events. Organizations also present them to show appreciation for excellent performance, hard work, and dedication. All branches of the armed forces use challenge coins, but the tradition extends beyond the military. Groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous commemorate sobriety with challenge coins, while civilian groups like the Boy Scouts use them for commemorative purposes alongside non-profits like the 501st Legion. There are even corporate challenge coins used in the business world.
A Historical Tradition
Historical accounts and military tradition connect challenge coins with shared identity, and people who serve in a unit or commit to a cause often treat a coin as proof that they belong. Some historians note that Ancient Roman soldiers gave and received special medallions to reward service and boost morale, and those early medallions may have evolved into what we now call challenge coins. The best-known legend of how challenge coins entered military culture dates to World War I. In that story, a wealthy lieutenant presented his American volunteer squadron with special coins to signify that they were part of the unit.
One of the unit’s pilots was struck down behind German lines, where soldiers took away his identification papers. However, the pilot still had the coin around his neck, kept safely in a small pouch. He escaped to a small French outpost, but the people there feared that he was a spy. The pilot could not prove that he was American, but the coin convinced the French to delay shooting him. The pilot was set free thanks to the coin.
From that point and throughout major conflicts like World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, challenge coins have been used as a way to identify and reward military members. Current members of the Coast Guard often carry Coast Guard challenge coins, soldiers collect Army challenge coins, and Marines receive Marine Corps challenge coins as part of the tradition. Sailors and Airmen also carry unit and command coins.
How to Get a Challenge Coin
People receive challenge coins in several ways. The most common path is military service, but civilians also receive them through group membership, public service, recognition from leaders, and family keepsakes. People also enter the hobby by collecting challenge coins and choosing to purchase online or at auction.
| Method | Who Typically Receives the Coin | What the Coin Signifies |
| Military service | Service members, units, graduates, and deployed personnel | Belonging, achievement, recognition, or unit identity |
| Group membership | Members of civic groups, nonprofits, recovery groups, and companies | Participation, milestones, and shared purpose |
| Meeting a government official or senior leader | Visitors, honorees, staff, and members of the public | Recognition, appreciation, or a commemorative meeting |
| Family keepsake | Relatives and heirs | Personal history, remembrance, and inherited service legacy |
| Purchase online or at auction | Collectors and hobbyists | Historical interest, collecting, and display |
Through Military Service
Military service remains the most common way to receive a challenge coin. Commanders, senior enlisted leaders, and units present coins to service members for performance, deployment, graduation, visits, or milestones. Branch traditions vary, but soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Guardians, and Coast Guardsmen commonly receive them as unit keepsakes and marks of recognition.
Through Group Membership
Challenge coins are not limited to the armed forces. Organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous mark sobriety milestones, the Boy Scouts use commemorative coins, non-profits such as the 501st Legion issue coins, and some companies create them for employees or special events. For many civilians, group membership is the reason they receive a coin.
By Meeting a Government Official or Senior Leader
Some people receive a coin by meeting a government official or other senior leader during a visit, ceremony, inspection, or recognition event. Mayors, governors, members of Congress, agency heads, ambassadors, generals, admirals, and commanders often carry coins and present them in person.
As a Family Keepsake
Families sometimes pass challenge coins down from one generation to the next. Inherited coins become family keepsakes that connect relatives to military service, public service, or a loved one’s unit history.
By Purchase Online or at Auction
Collectors also acquire challenge coins by purchase online or at auction, through estate sales, live auctions, specialty retailers, and collector markets. Buying a coin does not carry the same meaning as earning one, but it is common for people interested in collecting challenge coins to build a display this way.
How Challenge Coins Are Awarded
Military unit commanders often present challenge coins to individuals or entire units at special events. Organizations also present them to recognize excellent performance, hard work, and dedication. In many cases, meeting a government official or other senior leader leads to a presentation on the spot.
How the Coin Check Game Works
Challenge Coin Rules for Coin Checks and Presentations
This legend may have helped inspire the coin challenge that people still play today. After the pilot’s safe return, his fellow unit members required everyone to keep their coins with them.
A coin check is a challenge in which one person calls for everyone present to show a challenge coin. The initiator of the game can shout it out or use a coin to make a loud noise on the bar, table, or floor. Dropping your challenge coin by accident can also start the game, which is a good reason to keep your coin secured.
At that point, everyone participating must display a challenge coin. If someone cannot produce a coin, that person buys the challenger a drink. If everyone can produce a coin, then the challenger buys drinks for the whole group. Coin checks can be called at any time and in any place that the participants consider appropriate.
Anyone who has received a challenge coin should most likely already be familiar with the rules of the game, but you should make it clear how many drinks the loser will purchase. The coin should never be handed over to another game participant, because you could lose your coin. Hold your coin in the palm of your hand, in your fingers, or place it next to you on a table within arm’s reach. Another way to lose your coin is by leaving it on a table or chair and walking away, making it available to anyone who wants it.
If you lose the game but refuse to buy the required round of drinks, then you must turn in your challenge coin. That is why it is important to think twice before calling a coin challenge, since it can get expensive. It is a fun and exciting way to show your dedication to your military unit, fraternal organization, or other agency.
How to Keep and Care for Your Challenge Coin
People usually treat challenge coins with care and keep them with them. Handle the coin by its edges when possible, and avoid abrasive surfaces that can scratch the finish. If the coin needs cleaning, use a soft cloth and mild soap with water rather than harsh chemicals or rough polishing compounds.
Store a challenge coin in a pouch, protective capsule, or challenge coin display case if you are not carrying it. If you display coins, keep them clean, dry, and arranged respectfully. Good storage and display etiquette help preserve the design, finish, and meaning of the coin.
Other Ways to Get Challenge Coins
Beyond earning a coin directly, people sometimes receive challenge coins from government officials during visits, inherit them from relatives, or find them in estate sales and live auctions. Specialty retailers also sell challenge coins to collectors and hobbyists.
There are many challenge coin collectors who buy this unique memorabilia to display in their homes. Collectors appreciate the history and intricate designs on the coins, and it is not uncommon for some collectors to spend hundreds of dollars to complete their collection of challenge coins.
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FAQ
Can civilians get challenge coins?
Yes. Civilians often receive challenge coins through group membership, public service, nonprofit work, company programs, commemorative events, or recognition from officials and leaders.
Can you buy challenge coins if you were never in the military?
Yes. People who were never in the military can buy challenge coins from specialty retailers, estate sales, collector markets, live auctions, and online listings.
What happens if you lose your challenge coin?
In a coin check, if you cannot produce your coin, you usually buy the required round for the challenger or group. Outside the game, losing a challenge coin simply means you no longer have that keepsake with you.
Can you receive a challenge coin from the President or other government officials?
Yes. Presidents, members of Congress, governors, mayors, ambassadors, and other government officials sometimes present challenge coins during visits, ceremonies, or recognition events.
How do you properly carry a challenge coin?
Carry it securely on your person, often in a pocket, pouch, or holder, and keep it protected from scratches. If a coin check occurs, you should be able to display it without handing it to someone else.
