What Are They? Who Uses Them? How Do You Design And Order?
Custom challenge coins are a great way to represent your organization or commend someone for their service – but what is a challenge coin? These palm sized challenge coins are given out by organization, each with a unique design specific to an organization. It is hard to know exactly where the tradition began, but it certainly predates our modern ages, with tales of branded coins dating back to Ancient Rome, World War One and the Korean War.
Challenge coins are especially popular within special forces groups, such as military challenge coins or navy challenge coins. The first coins carried by members of the military were little more than currency, but they were a source of pride amongst the members. These eventually developed into custom coins for each unit and even some commemorative coins to represent especially difficult battles. The general idea for the “challenge” is that during a round of drinks if any member could not present their coin, they were stuck footing the bill.
Custom coins have expanded beyond the military and are ideal to represent certain groups as they can bear any logo or design. The coins are now popular within police and fire departments and organisations such as the Boy Scouts. Cosplayers have jumped on the scene and created their own designs. Each challenge coin can also be traded with other members of the groups or collected as a hobby.
Frequently Asked Questions About Custom Coins
There are three parts to any custom coin order.
Set Up Fee: Most coins are two sided. Setup fees start at around $250. Expect to pay a minimum of around $300-350 CDN for a orders less than 50pc.
Unit Price: The price you pay per coin. The sweet spot on our custom coin pricing is 100pc.
Less Than Minimum Fee: Is built into the pricing meaning that it’s not a money making proposition for a factory to setup/tera down a press for 10pc. So they charge us fees for doing so.
The important thing to understand is that it is almost cheaper to order 50pc. We would rather sell you coins than setup fees!
The shipping time is approximately three weeks once the order is completed. Timelines in January to March are different due to Chinese Lunar New year.
No. You can choose up to four enamel colours without additional fees. We also offer gold, silver, bronze or cultured metal.
Our challenge coins are made from zinc. These coins are somewhat different from currency for obvious reasons.
We provide five main coin types, depending on what you are looking for; Antique Coins, Soft Enamel Coins, Hard Enamel Coins, Shiny & Sandblast Coins and 3D/Cut out coins. Drop us a message and we can discuss your requirements!
We can make coins in any size you want. Price breaks are offered in .25″ increments. Most orders we process are 1.25-1.75″ in diameter. Thickness can also be changed according to your needs.
Absolutely! We offer six different edge styles to choose from. Fancy edges might add additional cost. 
We prefer to use EPS, AI or PDF files to create your design. We also accept JPG and PNG files however this may take slightly longer to create.
Our design service is free. (ie- simple alignment of words and logos) Designing for die struck manufacturing is very different from print or web. We can offer illustration services for more complex portraits or historical images upon request for a small fee. 
You can cancel your order before production has begun for a full refund.
