Custom Challenge Coins: Design Ideas and Inspiration

A custom challenge coin is a two-sided round medallion that is personalized with a logo, emblem or design meant to commemorate something special. Custom challenge coins have been a popular acknowledgment of service throughout the military since the first world war, but have become highly sought after in other industries - such as educational institutions, labour unions, first responders, clubs and the film industry - over the past few decades. So what do you need to know when it comes to challenge coin design ideas and inspiration? 

Table Of the Content

• What are Custom Challenge Coins? 
• Why Create a Custom Challenge Coin? 
• Challenge Coin Design Elements
• Top Design Ideas for Custom Challenge Coins 
• Popular Themes for Different Industries 
• How to Create a Meaningful Challenge Coin
• Buy Challenge Coins in Canada & USA
• Final Thoughts
• FAQ
  

What are Custom Challenge Coins? 

A custom challenge coin is a specially designed coin or medallion, most often round and double sided, that is created for a specific group, event, recognition or purpose. Challenge coins are a great way to commemorate membership in a club, to acknowledge longtime service or achievement and to promote teamwork and group morale. Personalized challenge coins often include logos, slogans, symbols and artwork that reflect the identity or mission of the group and will sometimes include dates of specific accomplishments or anniversaries. Custom challenge coins can also be exchanged between groups as a recognition of partnership and camaraderie. 

Why Create a Custom Challenge Coin? 

There are many reasons why a personalized challenge coin would be the perfect choice for your next project. Custom challenge coins are unique and meaningful, and act as a literal token of appreciation for your team, club members, volunteers and crew. The two-sided design allows for lots of space to personalize your design with logos, slogans, dates or other symbols that represent your club or cause. And the final product is a tangible symbol of recognition and honour that can be proudly displayed among other memorabilia, carried around in a pocket for good luck or traded with other lucky challenge coin recipients. 

Challenge Coin Design Elements

When it comes to challenge coin design ideas, there are many design elements to be taken into consideration to ensure your final product is one that you and others will cherish for years to come. The first challenge coin design element to consider is what base metal to use for your custom challenge coin. If you’re going for a high-class look, nothing beats gold electroplating. Silver and bronze are also popular choices for challenge coin customization depending what is being commemorated by the custom challenge coin. For a finish that has a bit more character and charm, consider going with an antique metal shade. And if you want a custom challenge coin that truly stands out from the rest, you can use what’s called dyed nickel electroplating - this means the base metal of your challenge coin can be any colour you want! 

The next challenge coin design element to consider will be the logo, symbol or artwork that you want to incorporate onto your custom challenge coin. This element of the challenge coin design can be created with raised and recessed metal, with enamel (paint) filled details or, for more complex designs, with UV printing. Ensure that the logo is large enough when shrunk down to coin size to be clear and legible. Text on challenge coins can be recessed and enamel filled for clear and precise legibility. And if your custom challenge coin project calls for an extra dose of creativity, you can incorporate fun things like glitter enamel, glow-in-the-dark enamel or rainbow electroplating.

The final custom challenge coin design element to decide upon is coin edging - there are many different types of custom edges that can be included in your design. A standard edge is a smooth, shiny line around the circumference of your coin, and is included in a custom challenge coin’s base pricing. A rope edge resembles a braided rope around the outside of the coin. A spur edge has raised metal that forms points and half circles around the coin’s edge. A bevel edge consist of flat waves from high to low points along the coin’s perimeter. And a cross-cut edge is designed with a series of diagonal lines intersecting to create a cross-hatch pattern. 

Top Design Ideas for Custom Challenge Coins

When it comes to challenge coin design ideas, custom challenge coins provide twice the opportunity for creativity and customization because they are two-sided. With twice the space to work with, the potential for challenge coin customization is huge. Organization logos are a great idea to be included on one side of the custom challenge coin. A custom crest, emblem or symbol is the perfect way to represent your group in an eye-catching way. The reverse side of the custom challenge coin can be used to highlight the special event, milestone or recognition that the coin is representing. Sometimes, this can include text - in the centre of the custom challenge coin, or around the coin’s edge - or an additional unique design, imprint or image. 

The use of enamel fill - hard enamel, to be level with the coin’s edge or soft enamel to be recessed - will add a splash of colour and style and bring your custom challenge coin design to life. The use of plain metal finish, or antique metal finish, will create a classy, timeless quality to your custom challenge coin project.
For design elements that are a bit more unique or outside the box, consider incorporating a cut-out into your custom challenge coin. Another great unique design option is 3D engraving - this design element creates a three-dimensional finished product that will really set your custom challenge coin design ahead of the rest. 

Popular Themes for Different Industries

What makes custom challenge coins such a fun project is that these custom mementos are popular across many different industries. So the design themes for personalized challenge coins can really vary depending on the industry and who will be receiving them. 

Themes for custom challenge coins recognizing military or first responders, such as police and firefighters, will recognize bravery and dedication and often include flags or crests and text that acknowledge the recipients’ commitment to public safety. 

Corporate challenge coins, recognizing employee achievement and teamwork, will often include a corporate logo as well as a symbol or other element of success like a star, diamond or trophy. 

Other popular themes for different industries when it comes to custom challenge coins include historical events, cultural heritage, nature and wildlife, science fiction and fantasy - all of these unique themes can be represented with creativity, colour and imagination.

How to Create a Meaningful Challenge Coin

The first step in how to create a meaningful challenge coin will be to determine what you want it to represent. Are you recognizing a group’s hard work and achievements? Are you raising awareness about an event or organization? Are you promoting a business? Once you establish a clear purpose for your custom challenge coin project, you can determine what elements are most important to include. This might be a corporate logo, a symbol or flag, an artistic element or text. The next step will be sketching out a design - and if you’re not artistically inclined, that’s OK. Many custom challenge coin manufacturers will use rough sketches as a perfect starting point for creating a virtual proof, which can be adjusted as needed. During this step you can also determine the overall coin size (measured in diameter), the type of metal finish, the type of coin edge and whether or not you want to include coloured enamel paint. 

Buy Challenge Coins in Canada & USA 

Once you have your meaningful custom challenge coin design put together, you’ll need to know how to buy challenge coins in Canada and the USA. Ultimate Promotions has been a supplier of custom challenge coins in Canada and the USA for almost four decades, and works with more than 500 customers each year to bring their custom projects to life. Ultimate Promotions offers free art services, free shipping and a commitment to making the process of buying custom challenge coins in Canada and the USA easy and stress free. 

Final Thoughts

A custom challenge coin is a powerful symbol that can represent unity, achievement and recognition in the form of a tangible keepsake. A well designed custom challenge coin can boost morale and improve teamwork, recognize tradition and culture or promote an event, fundraiser or business in a unique and eye catching manner. By carefully considering the various custom challenge coin design elements and choosing personalized components for your custom challenge coin project, you’re sure to come out with a cherished memento that will be enjoyed for years to come.