Oftentimes, these military coins are called:

Long time ago in Vietnam, it has been a tradition for soldiers to carry a lucky ammunition or ordnance in combat. Out of the battlefields, the soldiers devised a little game: the soldier who cannot produce his ordnance at his comrade’s “challenge” will buy drinks for troop members who have theirs.

However, the practice of carrying ammunition proved to be cumbersome over time.  Instead, the Viet commanders issued metal coins with the unit’s emblem but the old challenge tradition was still retained.

Today, the military coin traditions are still practiced among those in the military service as a symbol for esprit de corps. Their popularity has also spread throughout other organizations.

There are now police challenge coins, fire department challenge coins, and for other units of men and women in uniform all over the world.

The first US challenge coins

Somewhere in the haze of zealous warfares and daring air strikes in WW1, the US challenge coins were conceived. Like other military traditions, there are many claims on how these medallions originated. Nonetheless, the historical exploits regarding the first military challenge coins remain colorful in the stories told by veterans.

One account states that a wealthy Ivy Leaguer air squadron lieutenant gave each of his comrades a gold-plated bronze medallion with their troop’s insignia. A fellow pilot was overwhelmed with such gift that he kept it inside a small leather pouch and wore it around his neck.

As the war progressed, the unfortunate aviator was captured by the Germans. All of his identification documents where confiscated except for the one – the gold coin he wore around his neck was undetected by the enemy!

Soon, the pilot was able to escape and this time, he was recaptured by the British allies who mistook him for a German saboteur. Luckily, because of the gold coin that bore his troop’s badge, he was later on identified as a confederate and was returned to the US air squadron.

The coin check

The challenge or coin check is the jaunty way to guarantee that each troop member is carrying his or her unit’s coin all the time. The coin check can be done at any time and place. The basic rules go:

1) The initiation of the coin check starts by drawing out a coin and declaring a challenge verbally or by slapping down the coin on any hard surface thereby producing an audible sound. Dropping a coin unintentionally puts the owner at stake for an “accidental coin check”.

2) All those who are challenged should respond by showing their coins.


3) The person who fails to produce a coin must buy a round of drinks for the challenger and all those who have their coins with them.

4) However, it’s the challenger who must buy drinks for the entire group when each one will be able to draw out his or her coin.

5) If you fail to purchase a round of drinks, then your coin could be forfeited by the issuing authority.

6) The step-and-reach is permitted for those who don’t have their coins near them (for instance, when the challenged person is in the shower).

Starting your challenge coin collection

Popularity of military challenge coins

Outside the military and other civil service organizations, challenge coins are also becoming popular among fraternities and colleges. The NFL, NASCAR, and World Series of Poker have their challenge coins.

The military unit coins are also used for awards to boosts the troop members’ morale. There are challenge coins of numerous military units sold at online stores or you may opt to have one personalized from coin makers.

Numismatic value of the challenge coins

Most unit coins are made out of precious metals or if not, they are commonly plated with gold or silver. There are collectors who specialize in challenge coins. This branch in numismatics is called exonumia.

Challenge coin prices

There are many challenge coins from different organizations available in the market. However, if you want to have your medallion customized, you can go to a coin maker.

It may be costly because the die used to imprint a coin design has to be custom-made first. Other factors to consider are the quantity, design, color, finish, and etc.

There are ready-made challenge coins of U.S. organizations manufactured offshore in China and South Korea where the production costs are cheaper.

Military challenge coin display cases

An impressive array of challenge coins would please any war veteran. Popular military coin display cases are those made from wood. Other options are coin holders made of plastic or glass.

Challenge coins for a just cause

Even if you are not in the military service, you can be a proud owner of a challenge coin for some of them are made for a special cause. One of the collectible military coins that support the service is the Combating Terrorism coin for the children of special operation soldiers killed in the line of duty.