Custom State Police Challenge Coins

Honoring State Police Officers With Custom Coins

Police officers are generally restricted to certain city and county jurisdictions. They work hard to protect the people in their own communities by creating tight patrol areas, but a state is often large, and finding the personnel to police its borders is difficult under the best circumstances. While local police are best suited for patrolling the roads and neighborhoods of a specific area, the state police take a bigger picture approach and enforce laws on the state’s highways and interstates.

This California Highway Patrol challenge coin was created specifically for the Calinga Area patrol units, or as the coin says, the “watchers of the west side.” It’s one of our favorite state police challenge coins because of how it captures the feeling of the open road better than most others. Each of the major interstates that the department patrols are included around the rim of the coin, as well as an original design of a highway with common landmarks along the shoulder.

With responsibilities that include highway patrol, protecting the governor and providing security of the state capital, state police officers often have the opportunity to distinguish themselves in duty. Our Signature Coins team has been making police challenge coins for a long time, and we have the experience needed to craft original and meaningful designs to honor an officer’s achievements. If you are looking to get started on your own challenge coin designs, you have come to the right place. Take a look below to learn more about our process and see some examples of state police challenge coins we have had the opportunity to create in the past.

What Are State Police Challenge Coins?

State police challenge coins are used to create a sense of unity and camaraderie among a team of officers. Superior officers award them to different teams and members of the department who display courage, excellent service or other noteworthy traits. Some are custom made to celebrate promotions or retirements or even department milestone achievements. The most important aspects of any design, however, are the little things that make the artwork personal and meaningful to the men and women receiving them.

These Pennsylvania State Police challenge coins are a perfect example of how to make a meaningful design for a team. The coins are presented in high polish gold plating, creating a bright and inviting effect, while an array of colorfills add life to the artwork. The front face of the coin shows the State Police seal, specifically for Troop D, with the department’s core qualities listed around the rim. The back of the coin lists the areas of responsibility of Troop D and has an original design of the Butler station.

Police badges are a popular design cue for any kind of police challenge coin, as are both state seals and flags, but the inclusion of the team's main building is a nice touch that makes the coins more personal to the people receiving them. Because the state police are unique to the states they’re situated in, there are no limits to the customization options of their custom coins. Mottos, logos, badges and unit numbers are all common options, but state-specific emblems and attractions are also great design elements that can be used to set your coin apart.

Adding Personality to Your State Police Coins

No two state police departments are the same, just as no two states are the same. We do everything in our power to help each customer tell their story through design by adding as much personality as possible. When it comes to adding state or department seals into a design, we ensure that the end result is a perfect recreation of the original by using the exact Pantone colors needed and by creating highly detailed 3D molds of police badges for customers looking to include an accurate portrayal of the department badge on their coins.

No matter how you are looking to add personality to your design, you can be sure our team will be there to help. Some of the best places to look when getting started are things like coin plating and edging. We offer a wide array of metal plating options like precious metal, antique metal and even colored metal options.

This New York State Police challenge coin is a great example of dual plating, which is the combination of two different plating styles. In this case, the coin is presented in both antique and high polish gold. The police badge shines through so brightly because it is the only part of the coin plated in high polish gold. The rest is plated in antique gold. Black enamel colorfill is added to almost all of the recessed portions of the design to give it an ominous appearance fitting for the major crimes unit.

Edging is another way to make a design stand out from the crowd. We have six main custom edges available for our customers to choose from, but our art team has the ability to make completely new edging designs as well. There are two main styles of custom edges: molded edges and hand-cut edges. Just as it sounds, molded edges are pressed into the coin through the coin mold, whereas hand-cut edges are machined around the rim of the coin after the main design has been pressed.

This New Jersey State Police Coin is a great example of a custom molded edge of the kind we do not see very often. Instead of adding a symmetrical pattern, this coin has a unique script like pattern engraved around the rim.

While plating and edging are a great place to start when thinking about adding a unique personality to your coins, the artwork and colorfills are going to do most of the heavy-lifting. Both the New York and New Jersey state police coins show off just how different their departments are by choosing different colors, plating and styles in artwork. One is more serious while the other has much brighter tones. Both of these coins show how easy it can be to create something more than a design with just state seals and mottos.