How to use
Outside the military divisions of the government, the custom challenge coins are put to different uses. The fame of the original challenge coin has been stretched well past the military circles. Other branches of the government as well as commercial organizations also use these coins. Fraternal organizations, police departments and fire departments are some few government organizations that have taken up the culture of the challenge coin while Operas and recognized choirs are private entities that have also popularized the use of challenge coins. Such departments and organizations come up with their own designed challenge coins to give to their members.
The Utah Symphony has given all its members both musicians and staff a challenge coin each. This made it this particular musical entity the very first organization in the history of the United States of America to use the challenge coin culture in its operations. With the introduction of this culture to many non-military organizations, this gave rise to the custom challenge coins. The coin does not necessarily have to be presented to a person for it to be referred to as a challenge coin because, as the culture integrates into the commercial industry, many organizations offer the challenge coin for sale as a fundraising item or as a promotional product for other goods and services.
Custom challenge coins come in different shapes and sizes. It is not longer a rounded coin but also comes in the shape of a rectangular or square small metal shield. These are offered for sale and call for different costs depending on the different features on the coin. A different cost is given to a coin that has no color while another cost figure is given to one that has a color only on one side of the coin. If the coin has color on both side of the coin, the challenge coin is priced differently and in most cases, much higher than any other colored coin.
On the other hand, the size of the coin determines the amount or value of the coin. For a coin that has a diameter that measures more than an inch, the cost is different from the one that measures less than an inch in diameter. There are those that measure as much as two inches. It is not unusual to encounter custom challenge coins shaped in the form of a tree or a different shape that represents the core business of a particular organization.