Did you know that challenge coins have been popular since the Vietnam War when Special Forces soldiers carried them proudly? Since then, collecting challenge coins has grown in popularity throughout a number of different industries. Because of that, there are tons of different types of challenge coins for you to add to your collection.
Challenge coin collecting is becoming a popular hobby but it is important to know where to start buying challenge coins and trading challenge coins in order to get all of them that you desire. If you’re confused about where to buy a challenge coin and how to get started then you’re in luck.
You’ve come to the perfect place to learn all about where to start when you decide to start collecting challenge coins. Continue reading for some helpful tips that will make getting started a breeze.
What Is a Challenge Coin?
Challenge coins started gaining popularity during the Vietnam War with U.S. troops, but the ties between soldiers and special coins go back much further. If a soldier performed with bravery in battle in ancient Rome then the soldier would receive his pay for the day as well as a special coin as a token for his brave acts.
This continued throughout time and led to different units and even organizations developing special coins that signify the organization or unit. This is meant to enhance camaraderie amongst the people in the group. It has led to a bunch of unique and rare challenge coins like the presidential challenge coins.
Tips for Collecting Challenge Coins
Collecting challenge coins is a great hobby that leads to adrenaline rushes when you find that coin that you’ve been seeking and finally make it yours. Before you start putting together a robust collection of challenge coins there are a number of tips that you should follow.
These tips will make it much easier for you to know what drives you and what you want from your challenge coin collection. It will also help you know where to buy challenge coins and trade them for the ones that you truly want.
1. Know Your Reasoning
An important thing to know when you start collecting challenge coins is the reason behind starting this hobby. Perhaps you’re fascinated with a certain type of coin, like military challenge coins. Coins are a popular choice to start a collection with so perhaps it is your starting point when it comes to creating collections.
Perhaps you’re wanting to make money from collecting challenge coins. No matter your “why”, it is important that you understand what drives you and that will help you get a feel for the coins that you want to collect. There are some coins that are awesome to add to your collection but that won’t add much value. If you’re okay with that then go for the coins that mean something to you.
Your reasons are your own. Understanding your reasons will make it much easier in the future for you to identify and target the coins that you want to add to your collection to make it extra special.
2. Don’t Go Crazy Spending Money
Contrary to what you might think, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to get started with collecting challenge coins. When you’re first getting started with your collection you should focus on other things beyond the monetary value of the coins. Don’t rush into purchasing coins for the wrong reasons.
Start your collection by finding coins that you like and that speak to your soul. This is a much more enjoyable approach to take rather than listening to the challenge coin industry and blindly following what they say you should seek. Start with a small collection and purchase the coins that you like the best.
Find ones that interest you and that lead you to learn more about their personal history and their reason for existing. Once you’re more experienced with collecting challenge coins you can start to break further out as an informed person who is buying challenge coins.
3. Talk to Other Challenge Coin Collectors
There are a surprising amount of challenge coin collectors out there and you’re cheating yourself if you don’t join a forum with them to get to know them better. This is not only a great way to make friends and build a network, but it will also help you learn from the experiences of others.
This will also help you find other challenge coin collectors near you. You can set up a local network that will make collecting coins a much easier task. You’ll have a group of people that have similar interests to you and you can swap knowledge with them about the challenge coin industry.
4. Stick To a Budget
It is easy to give in to the temptation to spend a lot of money on a rare challenge coin. It is important that you set a budget for your collection and stick to it rather than going overboard. Setting a budget will help you to keep your finances in a healthy spot rather than spending all of your money on your challenge coin collection.
A good starting point is thinking about how much surplus income you have and how much you feel comfortable spending on your challenge coin collection. Then do your best to stay within that budget going forward.
5. Make Dealers Earn Your Trust
There is a reason why you need to build a reliable and trustworthy network when you get into collecting challenge coins. Unfortunately, there are some dealers that are looking to make a buck off of scamming you. Building a good network will help you find places for buying challenge coins that are reputable and that sell the real thing rather than a fake version.
Start Collecting Your Favorite Challenge Coins Today
There is no better time than the present to start on a new hobby, and collecting challenge coins is a wonderful hobby to start. You’ll want to make sure that you understand your “why” for getting into challenge coin collecting and building a strong network of other coin collectors. This will make it easy to build the best collection while finding trustworthy coin dealers to buy from.
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