Did you know that military challenge coins exemplify military tradition, pride, and memories?
Military challenge coins have history and legacy, and if you’re looking to give one as a gift, then it’s essential to understand more about the history and rules of these coins.
Keep reading this guide to learn more about the significance of military challenge coins!
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What Are Military Challenge Coins?
Challenge coins come in different sizes and are made of different materials. These coins relate to a part of the history of a service member. Sometimes they have details about certain military branches and can contain zinc or bronze.
Typically these types of challenge coins are given out to individual soldiers or groups that went on specific missions. They’re also given to people for joining the military.
Although you can find challenge coins for firefighters, the police, or other public service careers, they originated in the military services. You can check out customchallengecoins.net to see the different challenge coins you can buy for work or personal reasons.
History of Challenge Coins
While there is no concrete answer as to where challenge coins stemmed from, it’s thought they were popular back in ancient times when soldiers were given coins as tokens after a battle. These coins represented their hard work and courage during battle.
In addition, some history books note that challenge coins were used in World War One to honor soldiers, but overall this part of their history is murky.
Today, challenge coins are often given to people who move up in the military ranks. For example, if someone becomes a lieutenant, they’ll receive a challenge coin symbolizing that role.
What Does the Challenge Part Mean?
Initially, the coins started as medallions, but this meaning slowly changed over time. It became a sign of respect to have your coin on you at all times.
Soldiers can challenge others in their group to show their coin at any time. If you don’t have your coin on you, someone can challenge you to either pull a prank or buy a round of drinks for everyone.
The pressure of these challenges causes soldiers to keep these coins on them at all times to avoid embarrassment.
Challenge Coin Etiquette
Nowadays, there is a challenge coin etiquette people follow with challenge coins. If you give someone a coin, you need to give it to them with a handshake. The idea is the coin stays concealed.
According to challenge coin rules, anybody can call a coin check any time. When this occurs, you have to tap your coin on the table so everyone can hear.
You must buy everyone a drink if you don’t have your coin. You must also buy everyone a drink if you accidentally drop your coin on the floor. Even though these challenges mainly apply to service members, anybody present can show their coin if they have one.
Military Challenge Coins
Now that you know more about military challenge coins, you can buy one to represent military service for yourself or a family member.
When you’re looking to give a challenge coin as a gift, be sure to do your research to determine more about the military branch your loved one served in so you can customize it perfectly.
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