According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are about 18 million veterans living in the U.S. today. If you’re one of them, there may come a time when someone will give you a military challenge coin.
This type of challenge coin is designed specifically for those who served in one of the branches of the military. If you receive one, it’ll usually mean that someone wants to show their appreciation to you for serving your country.
You should know how to accept a challenge coin from someone in case you ever get one. You should also know all about challenge coin etiquette so that you don’t make any crucial mistakes while carrying challenge coins around with you.
We’ve created a list of challenge coin etiquette tips that you can put to good use. Check them out below and remember them if you’re ever the recipient of a custom challenge coin.
Don’t Make Too Big of a Deal After Receiving a Challenge Coin
If someone ever gives you a challenge coin, they’re usually not going to do it in a super obvious way. Oftentimes, they’ll slip it into your hand while they’re shaking it to pass it along to you.
You should, in turn, try not to make the fact that they gave you a challenge coin a huge deal. You should take a look at the challenge coin they handed to you, say thank you for it, and be on your way. This is the proper way to show your appreciation back to someone who has given you a challenge coin.
Carry a Challenge Coin Around at All Times
Once you receive a challenge coin, you shouldn’t shove it into the back of your sock drawer and leave it there. You should instead make it your mission to carry it around as often as you can.
Generally speaking, you should try to put your challenge coin into your pocket just about every time that you leave your house. Just make sure that you put it somewhere that it’ll be safe and won’t fall out.
Don’t Turn a Challenge Coin Into Jewelry
In an effort to ensure that they don’t lose their challenge coins, some people will drill holes in them and turn them into necklaces or other types of jewelry. You should not do this under any circumstances.
As we just mentioned, it’s important for you to keep a challenge coin on you at just about all times. But that doesn’t mean that you need to desecrate it for the purpose of making sure that it’s always around.
Take Pride in Your Challenge Coin
While you don’t want to make a big deal about a challenge coin when you first get it, you should get into the habit of showing it off to those who you think would want to see it. There is nothing wrong with pulling your challenge coin out and showcasing it for, say, your fellow veterans.
You earned the challenge coin that you received. So you shouldn’t be shy about taking pride in it. You’re more than welcome to pull it out and put it on full display for everyone to see if you would like to do this.
Don’t Let Too Many People Handle a Challenge Coin
You should take every opportunity to show off a challenge coin that someone gave to you. But you shouldn’t pass it around and let other people hold it if you can avoid it.
Rather than taking this approach to letting others look at it, you should stick a challenge coin on a table so that people can see both sides of it there. Outside of the fact that passing a challenge coin around will spread germs, it could also put you in a position where you might lose your challenge coin.
Participate in Challenge Coin Checks Whenever You Can
Some military members will hold so-called challenge coin checks when they’re out and about. A military member will either verbally say that they would like to conduct a challenge coin check or slam their own challenge coin down on a table to start a challenge coin check.
If you happen to have your challenge coin on you when one of these checks takes place, you should feel free to pull it out and show it off. It’s part of the fun of having a challenge coin in the first place.
Keep Your Challenge Coin in a Safe Spot When Home
As we’ve alluded to several times now, you should carry a challenge coin around with you as often as you can. But when you’re at home, you don’t need to keep it in your pocket.
You should have a safe place where you put your challenge coins so that nothing happens to them. Some veterans will keep their challenge coins in a safe, while others will place them into display cases that allow them to show their coins off to any visitors.
Use These Challenge Coin Etiquette Tips
You should feel honored if someone is ever nice enough to give you a challenge coin. But you should also make sure you commit all the challenge coin etiquette tips mentioned here to memory.
These tips will help you handle a challenge coin in the right way as you move forward. It’ll also reduce the chances of you accidentally losing a challenge coin at any point.
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