5 Amazing styles of custom challenge coins

Custom challenge coins – the origins of challenge coins have interesting and diverse accounts to recall, primarily started among US army circles as an identification of affiliation to a unit or as a ‘memento’ for valor and exceptional performance. Initially to encourage the habit of carrying a challenge coin, a system of light-hearted ‘challenge’ was conceived; wherein the challenger used to challenge the other member to show their challenge coin, if the challenged was unable to show his challenge coin, the challenger had the privilege to get paid for drinks from the challenged. And if the challenged showed the challenge coin on demand the challenger has to buy drinks to the challenged. This blithely challenge widely popularized the use of challenge coins in military circles and was significantly responsible for spreading the popularity of challenge coins. In due course, it turned inevitable to have a variety of custom challenge coins to be unique and given the popularity of challenge coins among general public at present different styles of custom challenge coins emerged.

challenge-coin-3d-mold-man

                                                                      A custom challenge coin is one which is designed to be unique for a specific organization, achievement, unit or any other purpose for that matter. Custom challenge coins, being considered as a prized possession by its possessors, undoubtedly deserve utmost perfection in terms of style, design, make and material. Presently, there are a couple of challenge coin vendors; but a very few who could promise to deliver custom challenge coins following the customers requirement, as designing a custom challenge coin demands the highest skills in envisioning a design and actually minting it to the customer’s taste. The ability to deliver custom challenge coins precisely satiating the customer’s taste thus is truly an art in itself!

challenge-coin-blue-enamel

                                                                     The style of a custom challenge coin makes it unique there by imparting it an ‘antique value’. So, the style and appearance of a challenge coin plays a decisive role in customizing it. Basically made with brass given its durability and appealing finish, custom challenge coins can also be made with gold and enamel; and various other options exist depending upon the budget of the customer. Also, different styles of custom challenge coins can be made tweaking with the edges and rim of challenge coins. As we are well aware a coin has two faces; the ‘heads’ face of a coin is called ‘obverse’ and the ‘tails’ face is called ‘reverse’. The space between the obverse and reverse which runs through the circumference of the coin is called the ‘Edge’ of the coin; and the elevated portion on both the faces of  a coin running across the diameter of the coin is called the ‘Rim’ of the coin, so a coin eventually has one edge and 2 rims. A lot of customization can be done with this rim and edge of the coins making the challenge coins look marvelous and appealing!

challenge-coin-coin-challenge

                                                                   Coming to the 5 amazing styles of custom challenge coins, I personally suggest the following,

1. Metal Styles – metal styled custom challenge coins look extremely appealing for their fine metallic sheen and bold look. Options in metal styled custom challenge coins include polished gold metal, polished brass, polished silver, black nickel, and polished copper. Often times a vendor might also offer additional finishing options like antique gold, antique silver and antique copper.
2. Diamond cut edges – as mentioned earlier in the topic ‘edge’ of the challenge coin can be beautifully customized into rope-cut, cross-cut, wave-cut and oblique-cut edges, there by stylizing a custom challenge coin.
3. 3D designs – this gives a custom challenge coin the depth for its design and makes a challenge coin very unique to present.
4. Sequentially numbered coins – another interesting option for stylizing a custom challenge coin is ‘sequencing’. This makes it possible to have serial numbers on the coin so that the possessors of the coin fall under a sequence for receiving it, which makes the possessor so unique among the recipients.
5. Engraved text – text engraved upon a custom challenge coin imparts a majestic look to the coin, with the name of the organization or the recipient engraved on the face of the challenge coin.

                                                  There are several other options for stylizing a custom challenge coin apart from those mentioned above; and the taste of the customer and creativity of the maker are the only limits to it!