Challenge Coins: History, Purpose, and Impact

Challenge coins are known across the military and veteran community as a symbol of pride and excellence.  But what is their purpose, and where did they come from?

What Is a Challenge Coin?

Challenge coins are small medallions that represent an achievement, membership, or affiliation to a specific group. In the military and veteran community, they often symbolize a special event or mission, anniversary, meeting with a leader, or affiliation with a unit. According to the Department of Defense, challenge coins have been an American tradition for a century.

Service members and veterans commonly exchange them via handshake before proudly placing them on their office desks or in homes to showcase their proud military history.   

“When you’re given a challenge coin, the pride that comes with that coin is huge,” said Dan Schnock, alumni director at Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP). “You can get a pair of diamond rings that have less significance than the coins that are given.”

Dan remembers the story behind every coin he’s received and given. For example, he received his first one from his brigade commander in 1991 shortly before their unit’s Desert Storm deployment. After Dan retired, he gave that same coin to his brother, who served in the Air Force.

Where Did the Tradition Begin?

Multiple stories have been told about the origin of challenge coins. Though no one knows for sure, the most prevalent story traces the coins back to World War I.

According to the Department of Defense, a wealthy Army lieutenant wanted to give everyone in his unit a memento to remind them of their service. So, he ordered coin-sized bronze medallions inscribed with their unit insignia. He held his own medallion in a pouch around his neck.

When enemy forces shot the lieutenant’s plane down over Germany, he was captured and stripped of all identification items. The small pouch, however, remained.

The lieutenant was taken to a town near the front lines where he found civilian clothes and escaped. He went to a French outpost where French soldiers assumed he was an enemy due to his clothing and accent.

With no way to identify the lieutenant, the soldiers planned to execute him. However, the lieutenant remembered his coin, showed his unit’s insignia to the soldiers, and was spared when they recognized it.

When he returned to his squadron, it became a new tradition for everyone to carry a coin with their unit emblem inscribed.  

Read about other stories that could also explain the origin of challenge coins.

The Impact and Importance

The heritage of these coins has evolved to represent oath, loyalty, respect, and camaraderie for a team or unit. Historically, military unit leaders have presented the coins to honor an individual or as a gesture of gratitude.

Most servicemen and women proudly display their coins in many ways. From rack holders to frames, the coins are a symbol of pride and service.

Dan, for example, keeps his most recent challenge coin on him at all times, just in case the right moment strikes.

“I keep this challenge coin in my wallet. If you’ve been in the military, if you ever go somewhere and someone taps their challenge coin on the table, you're supposed to pull yours out,” said Dan. “Tradition holds that.”

The importance of the coins goes far beyond the coin check, though.

Dan says every commander of the military is given 10% of coins based on the number of service members in their unit. For example, if the unit has 100 service members, they get 10 challenge coins to give out per year. Each coin is a symbolic nod of appreciation that grows into a memory to last a lifetime.

“The pride that comes with it – it’s appreciation. It’s a thank you. It’s so significant and symbolic,” Dan said.

Find out how you can help honor and empower wounded veterans.

Contact: Kaitlyn McCue, Public Relations, kmccue@woundedwarriorproject.org, 904.870.1964

About Wounded Warrior Project 

Since 2003, Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) has been meeting the growing needs of warriors, their families, and caregivers — helping them achieve their highest ambition. Learn more about Wounded Warrior Project.