Memorial Coins: How to Design a Custom Challenge Coin

Memorial Coins

When you think about challenge coins, you probably associate them with military members. More often than not, military members are the ones who collect challenge coins.

But it’s worth noting that pretty much anyone can create custom challenge coins and give them out. You might want to put together challenge coins for an organization that you run and pass them out to your fellow members.

You might also want to customize memorial coins for your family members and friends to honor their memories. It’s a fantastic way to pay tribute to them and celebrate the great lives that they led.

Want to know how to come up with the best possible memorial coin design? We’ve created a list of memorial coin tips that will help you get started.

Check out our memorial coin guide below to see which steps you’ll need to take to bring the ideas that you have for a memorial coin to life.

Give Thought to What You Want to Put on a Memorial Coin

Before you begin trying to map out memorial coins for loved ones, you should always give some serious thought to what you would like to put on them. You can put almost anything that you would like on a memorial coin.

Would you like to put a picture of your loved one on a memorial coin? Or how about a loved one’s signature? Whatever the case, you should brainstorm some ideas and go with the one that feels right.

Figure Out Which Shape You Want a Memorial Coin to Be

If you’ve ever seen memorial coins in the past, there is a good chance that you saw round ones. This is the shape that so many people choose when they design memorial coins.

But you should know that you’re also more than welcome to make a memorial coin a custom shape if you want to go in that direction. As long as you work with the right challenge coin company, they’ll be able to customize coins to be the shape that you want them to be. It’ll be an excellent way to make memorial coins even more special than they’ll already be.

Decide How Big You Want a Memorial Coin to Be

Do you want to create memorial coins that will fit nicely into a wallet? Or would you prefer to make larger memorial coins that will look great when they’re put out on display?

Memorial coins can be as small as just 1.5 inches or as large as 3.0 inches. You can also choose a size that falls somewhere in between those two numbers. You might also be able to select a custom size for memorial coins if you’re willing to pay a little more for them.

Choose the Memorial Coin Style You Like the Most

Memorial coins come in a wide range of different styles. Some of the most popular styles are:

  • Die struck
  • Soft enamel
  • Hard enamel
  • Ceramic chip
  • Lapel pin
  • And more

You should sneak a peek at the various memorial coin styles and choose the one that appeals to you the most.

Think About If You Want a Single-Sided or Double-Sided Memorial Coin

Do you want to put something on just one side of the memorial coins that you create, or do you like the idea of putting something on both sides?

One of the great things about customizing memorial coins is that you will be in total control when it comes to whether you go with single-sided or double-sided coins. You’ll have the freedom to choose which option will work best for you based on the designs that you have in mind.

Pick Out the Right Plating for a Memorial Coin

After a challenge coin company is all finished with your memorial coins, they’re going to add plating to them. This plating will provide them with the protection that they’ll need to last for a long time.

Polished gold is the most affordable option, and it’s also one of the most attractive options. As a result, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to hear that it’s the most popular.

But you can also choose from many other types of plating, including polished nickel, polished brass, polished copper, polished silver, and more. You should look around at the different kinds of plating and see which ones stand out to you the most.

Select the Right Edge for a Memorial Coin

One of the final decisions you’ll have to make when creating memorial coins is choosing which edge to put on them. A standard, rope, or spur edge should come included at no extra cost.

But you might also want to consider going with a bevel, cross-cut, or reeded edge. They’ll cost a little more than the other options but they might be well worth it to you.

You can even have the edge of your memorial coins customized with something extra special for your loved one. It’ll put your memorial coins over the top and make people cherish them even more than they already will.

Start Designing the Perfect Memorial Coins

Designing memorial coins for your loved ones can be a whole lot of fun. You’ll enjoy working your way through the design process and making each of the decisions that we’ve talked about here.

Make sure you spend your fair share of time weighing each decision that you make. It’ll leave you with a great-looking memorial coin in the end and ensure that you don’t have any regrets when you’re finished.

Discover more ways to memorialize your loved ones by browsing through our other blog articles.