Better Challenge Coins

Designing Challenge Coins: Knowing Where to Start

January 6, 2019 By PNR 2 Comments

Differences in 3D, 2D and Offset Print Challenge Coins

Creating a design is the most exciting part of ordering challenge coins. It gives our clients a chance to let their imaginations run free and a place to bounce ideas off the walls and see what sticks. Through years of experience, we have become experts on the ins and outs of the design process by creating one of a kind challenge coins for all walks of life. Our art team has skill and experience, and our sales team is friendly and knowledgeable. Together, they help every customer figure out what kind of coin is best suited for their ideas: 3D, 2D or offset print.

Each one of these styles will flesh out a design in a different way, and knowing which one to choose is the start of the whole process. When describing a coin as either 2D or 3D, we are indicating the number of levels on the coin face. A 2D coin has only two planes of metal: a raised surface and a recessed surface. A 3D coin has the potential for any number of levels with rounded and sloped edges between the raised and recessed portions of the coin face.

Offset print challenge coins look like they could fit somewhere in the middle of these two design options. Offset printing is the process of transferring an image onto a rubber “blanket” and then rolling that image onto the coins. It’s called “offset” because the ink is not directly transferred onto the surface of the coins. It’s a hard method to describe in words, but the final results speak for themselves. Take a look at the comparisons below to get an idea of how each style looks.

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Choosing the Right Style For Your Design

Each of these styles comes with their own advantages and disadvantages when considering certain design factors. For example, 3D coins are excellent for adding depth and detail to a design but, ironically, we do not recommend using a 3D mold to depict a person’s face. The human brain is hardwired to recognize facial features and expressions, so even the smallest imperfection is easily noticeable. Offset print coins work much better at capturing the likeness of an individual. Knowing which design to choose comes from knowing which styles are best suited for your design ideas.

3D designs are the best option for customers looking to create something with layered details and incredible depth. We make law enforcement challenge coins with 3D police badges that have the authentic ridges and curves of the real counterpart. Some military coins incorporate 3D images of emblems, equipment or vehicles like helicopters or trucks. The coin minting process starts with sculpting the mold with a 3D CAD file. Once the coins are minted, our production team puts them all through a meticulous deburring process that smooths out all of the rough edges and ridges, ensuring a uniform quality in the entire set.

2D coins only have two levels as opposed to the potentially limitless levels of a 3D design. But that does not mean they cannot have depth or substance in their set up and artwork. 2D coins are perfect for recreating company emblems and logos, military insignias and team mascots and colors. They are also perfect for creating stylized representations of people and faces. When comparing 3D and 2D coins the biggest difference is depth in design, however, 2D coins still offer plenty of avenues to create colorful and intricately detailed artwork.

Offset print challenge coins are the best option for anyone looking to recreate a picture or person’s face. The final product is almost like a blend of the massive depth and detail of a 3D coin and the more paired down coin construction of a 2D coin. Making offset print challenge coins starts with designing a mold, just like any other coin, and the design image is transferred onto each coin after the minting process.

Coin size will play a role in how a design is implemented as well. For 3D artwork, we do not recommend going any lower than 1.5”. 2D and offset print designs are better suited for smaller coins, however, we can work with almost any specifications or sizes. Standard coins range from 1.5” to 3”, but we have made oversized coins and oddly shaped coins for all sorts of different customers. While there are certain challenges associated with any type of design, we stand by our ability to have any project produced and delivered within 14 days.

Knowing Where to Start

Challenge coins possess a personal quality that comes directly from our clients. Their ideas shape the entire project and the end result is something truly meaningful to their organization or team. Our job is simply to help each customer make those design inspirations a reality, and we hope that the information here offers the right starting point.

Knowing where to start comes down to knowing what type of challenge coin to choose.

3D challenge coins are the best option for adding depth and shape to a design. Choosing sizes over 1.5” helps to ensure that no fine details are lost as artwork is downsized onto a smaller surface, but our production team can make any size work.
Custom 2D coins do not have the same potential as 3D coins for layered textures but they still afford plenty of opportunities for intricate detail. The two levels on the coin face are perfect for recreating colorful logos, emblems and character art.
Offset print challenge coins show the exact likeness of a person or particular image. The final product is a perfect recreation of a supplied pictured and has a smooth surface and glossy shine framed within the borders of the coin.

When a client can’t decide on just one of these styles, we tell them not to worry. It’s entirely possible to order a coin with 2D designs on one side and 3D designs on the other. Or you can have a coin made with both 2D and offset print designs. Especially when a customer has their heart set on a 3D design, choosing to mix and match these styles is a good way to save money on the final product. Deciding what style of challenge coin to make will have the greatest effect on your order, so make sure to check out some examples and get inspired before getting started.

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

Making custom quality challenge coins and Military belt buckles are one of our specialties. If you’re interested in getting a designing a custom buckle or Quality Challenge coin for your Division, Command, or Mess we’ve streamlined the process, click the get started link at the bottom of the page and someone from our design team will be with you within 48 hours to bring your vision to life. If your interested in making something awesome in metal, so hot you need glove to put it on your belt check out Pitch and Rudders Custom Military Belt Buckles.

Challenge Coins | What are they?

December 17, 2018 By PNR 4 Comments

Challenge Coins | What is a Challenge coin | Why do people make Custom Challenge coins

Historically Challenge Coins were simple, they were small and easy to carry, with no real thought as for design. Made from metal, A challenge coin is a, often shaped like a coin but which can be any shape. It’s the meaning behind the metal that makes it so much more than the metal that it is made from. It’s a bond of brothers and family, one that you choose and not born into. A Challenge Coin is a representation of memory be it your unit, command, event or the individual that slapped it into your hand. Originally pilots used them as ways of uniquely identifying members of their own unit when they went down under fire, but as time has passed all branches of service have adopted the tradition. Today, not only does the Military use Challenge Coins, but it has spread into the civilian population, into corporate America not to mention all the fire departments, police officers, government and Charity Organizations that make Custom Coins any number of purposes.

Custom Navy Chief Challenge coin manufactured by Pitch and Rudder — Custom 3d Challenge coin manufactured by Pitch and Rudder

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The Challenge Coins Were so much simpler than the ones of today, the standard Round challenge coin was only 1.75 inches in diameter and would be 2D and have a total thickness of 3mm if you were lucky. The designs were very straightforward, the Navy Crest or an Officers Rank and along with their name, unit emblem, and perhaps an inspirational statement or quote. The Command Coins were the made from the same pattern, small round and flat, the colors would be limited and would have the commands unit patch one side and something simple on the other. Perhaps the Command name and aircraft or ship image to finish the design. Today more thought goes into what shape the coin is going to be then what the entire design used to be.

A Challenge Coin should tell a story about an event, a company or a person.

A challenge coin is unique and should be limited in production. It should tell a story; a story not only about the organization but also about the person who received it and the person who made it. It’s the story behind a coin that makes it a true challenge coin. Something that is just designed and pushed into mass production without any real story or emotional connection isn’t a challenge coin. It’s just a piece of metal. Challenge Coins are designed and made to bring units together, expand your reach and help build those bonds of friendship and brotherhood.

Challenge Coins have been designed for specific award achievements and memorial dedications. In the Military, Commanding Officers have personal challenge coins that they hand out to Soldiers for Jobs well done. Sometimes that quick moment, a handshake and a Challenge coin and change the direction of a young Soldiers Career. In the Navy Sailors of the Year are given Special Custom Challenge Coins signifying that they were selected. Senior Ranking Officers such as the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy has his own special custom challenge coin that he has designed that is coveted by Sailors.

Challenge Coins can be made and Sold for fundraising activities, from events as simple as virtual 5K Medals to selling Challenge Coins online to fund a gala or Military Ball, like the Marine Corps Birthday ball or the Navy Birthday Ball. Fundraising with custom challenge coins is really simple!

Challenge coins are exploding, they are popping up everywhere online. They have been a standard in the military and first responder communities forever; however, the last five years we have seen a huge influx into mainstream culture. Why wouldn’t they take hold in the mainstream world? Knowing how much a coin can impact the morale of your employees, it almost seems silly not progressing towards having your own. I’m a collector at heart and have in my collection close to 4k challenge coins but I can vividly remember the first time I had a Command Master Chief give me his personal coin. As I look back on my Career, I can’t remember any of the times I was awarded a personal award with the same fondness. Maybe it’s because an award is a piece of paper and a medal that I rarely wear, or maybe it’s because that Challenge Coin I palmed had story to it.

Challenge Coins | The Tradition | The History | Rules

Traditionally, challenge coins are passed from one person to the other via a handshake. This acting of Palming is timeless. It’s a form of showing respect, shaking hands while handing off something special without the world around knowing what’s going on. Most times, when done right the person palmed, will slide the challenge coin into his or her pocket and look at it away from the public eye.

Challenge Coin Rules

Let’s kick this off with a bang! Oh wait, I meant to say Beer! Yep I really meant Beer! When we start hitting the Challenge Coin rules and Games we are going to jump directly into the drinking games! So you find yourself a Christmas Party, or a Bar and someone pulls out a Challenge Coin and starts to perform a Coin Check. Wait what the hell is a Coin Check… Alright, let’s back up a bit. They are simply tracking down who is buying the next round of drinks. If they haven’t checked the area well enough it might even be them!

From here on its really easy, just whip out your coin and slam it down on the bar or table. First things first does everyone at the bar have one? Yep! Perfect now things can get a little dicey! There are different views on what happens next, in my neck of the woods, if you pull a coin check and everyone has a coin…. Your buying a round. If you’re with a Chiefs Mess and you pull a Coin check and you do not have a Chiefs Coin, oh brother your in for a long night of buying drinks…. In other venues of the game, It may have to be the current command or unity coin, sport team coin or it could be the lowest ranking coin has to buy drinks. However, in all capacities, If you do not have a challenge coin on you… YOU LOSE and have to buy drinks. Now if there are three losers in the group, you can have them split the round cost, or my favorite…… Have them buy 3 rounds. Coin Check preference. Building traditions is what the coin check is all about. A few words of wisdom from an old Senior Chief (who always has a Coin on him) Never, never, never, challenge a group US Navy Chief Petty Officers on a Coin Check. You will lose, not once or twice but we will follow you from bar to bar. IM sure you’ve heard the saying drunk like a Sailor, We are great at not having to pay for our beverages of choice when someone unknowingly coin checks one of us.

Important Challenge Coin Rules

Challenge coins can be used by friends and military members to challenge each other to a round of drinks. When one person pulls out their coin, each other person must show their coin, or buy drinks for the others. Let’s recap all the rules so you have them fresh in your mind. When someone calls for a coin check:

Whip out your coin
If someone doesn’t have a coin, they buy the drinks
If more than one doesn’t, those people split or they buy more than one round Coin Checkers call.
If all people have challenge coins, the coin checker buys
So keep your coin with you all the time!!!
Never, Never Challenge a group of US Navy Chiefs

Challenge Coin Styles

As mentioned the traditional challenge coin is a round shaped coin that is about 1.75” or 2” in diameter.

However, as challenge coins have gotten increasingly popular over time, people have had to differentiate their coins by getting increasingly creative in their designs. Now, coins feature any number of different shapes, from the recognizable to the non recognizable. Some coins also feature cutouts, which are holes within the coin that go clear through to the other side.

Another way people are making new challenge coins is by turning them into bottle openers and thus keeping going the proud military tradition of drinking beer. We can fit bottle openers into a variety of different shapes and placements in order to get creative as well.

Military Challenge Coins | Different Branches have Unique and Cool Features

Lets be honest, even with Challenge Coins moving more mainstream, they are still widely associated with the military. Each branch is known for its specific styling of service coin. In the following sections we can dig into what makes Custom Military Challenge Coins difference from the civilian counterparts; as well as, what makes them unique to the branches as well. Custom Challenge Coins are super diverse and military coins even more so!

Navy Challenge Coins

Navy Challenge Coins, Davey Jones and Krakens! Sailor Jerry Custom Coins and ship wheel cutouts. There isn’t much that can’t and hasn’t been done on a Navy Challenge Coin! Their style is amazing and so diverse! Inside the Navy you can find different regions have distinct characteristics in challenge coins making them a collector’s paradise or if your worried about your collection getting too large a money pit as well. Some of the more well know styles of Navy Challenge coins are as follows:

Challenge coins shaped like ships; submarines and aircraft carriers. These can be really cool 3D coins, but you have to work on tying in the back of the design to the front to make sure it’s a smooth transition.
Squadron Challenge Coin; these have to be one of my favorite types of custom coins to design, they are awesome to design and come in so many different shapes. You can add things to them and really make them pop off the chart, bottle openers, golf ball markers and most squadron have cool animal mascots. Designing coins for VP-4, doesn’t sound crazy cool…. Designing custom challenge coins for the Skinny Dragons of VP-4 is awesome!
Seal coins, enough said.
Promotions and retirements coins. We just did a complete article on these type of coins check it out here at retirement challenge coins
Navy Birthday Coins, these are always a blast to design and collect, from ticket ideas to simply awesomeness in a shipwheel!

Navy Chief Challenge Coins

A sub culture under US Navy Challenge coins is the entire world of the Chief Petty Officer Challenge Coin. Now for every command and unit in the Navy, there is a Chiefs Mess and that Chiefs mess has a Coin. These coins are the pinnacle of the Challenge Coin collectors world in the Us Navy. Each type of coin that has already been talked about has a subsection specific to the Chiefs Mess, the difference is that the Chiefs Coin has more detail. It holds more value than a standard command challenge coin because it was presented to that Sailor by his or her Chief for a specific great job. It is fairly easy to identify a Chiefs Mess Challenge Coin, it will have a US Navy Chief Anchor on it. It should have a gold FOULED anchor with the Silver USN. There are five Standard Anchors that you will find on todays Chief Coins. The Standard CPO anchor, the Senior Chief Anchor and the Master Chiefs Anchor. Then there is a Heritage Anchor, the Falling N some call it and then on Chief coins you will find a rare anchor with 3 stars.

Army Challenge Coins

Army units are almost certainly the most competitive when it comes to making the best looking challenge coins. The difficulty for them is that these coins will typically be handed out by senior officers of the unit, so they must remain professional. In this way, Army challenge coin designers work with us to make some of the coolest looking coins in very unique shapes in order to remain competitive and still look professional.

Among the many Army challenge coins we’ve designed are:

Paratroopers
Military Police
Chemical Brigades
Deployment coins
Coins representing every kind of Army unit imaginable

Business Challenge Coins | Corporate Challenge Coins | Business Card Challenge Coins

We find that any sector that a large number of veterans means challenge coins will follow as well. Although veterans tend to go work in government after the military, many do go into business either at corporations or as self-starters like ourselves.

With businesses, the tried and seemingly still true method of leaving a client with your contact information is a business card. But the business card just gets thrown out by almost everyone or lost in the stack of hundreds of other business cards people have sitting in drawers and collecting dust.

For the modern business, we are selling challenge coins as great ways to leave a mark on an organization’s most important clients. Such coins typically include the company logo and any associated logo, along with their name, important symbols, and other important ideas. For example, we made a coin for a wealth management firm that featured a stock market bull and bear, while an insurance company made a coin to give out to their truck drivers, serving a useful purpose by helping to remind their truck drivers to drive safe.

Smaller companies can also make coins and would typically include contact information such as a phone number or email address, a website, and anything else important to what they do.

With a challenge coin business card, we have found that customers will not only hold onto and continue to see it as a reminder of future business but also share it with their friends. Although it is much more expensive than a normal business card, we find that they make great investments if you exercise care in who receives one.

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Law Enforcement Challenge Coins | LEO Challenge Coins | First Responders Challenge Coins

Given the clear connection between the military and law enforcement, not only in similar duties but also with veterans who become police officers, you would expect to see lots of challenge coins as well. Although this is true, it is much more common among larger police departments and Federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, Customs and Border Protection, Secret Service, and Homeland Security.

Many Police departments have their own unit coins and trade them between themselves. They trade them during conventions; as well as, online on the different facebook groups dedicated to police challenge coins.

Federal Government law enforcement organizations love to make challenge coins, and given that they use them quite differently than anyone else does, they arguably come out looking among the funniest and interesting of all challenge coins. The New York Police Department has a wide variety of challenge coins that they design and trade. In fact, the NYPD Challenge coins may rival some Army units for their designs. NYPD coins have been using the Guardian of Galaxy tapes as of lately for the inspiration of design. NYPD challenge coins are pretty dang awesome and we have a few in our collection!

Firefighter Challenge Coins

Firefighters are, surprisingly, as into challenge coins as any military challenge coin aficionados are. Perhaps it is the friendly rivalry and competition between different shifts of a firehouse, or between different stations within the same fire district that drives firefighters to want to make the best challenge coins possible.

A couple things are almost ubiquitously found on fire department challenge coins: colors matching their firetruck, images of the firetruck and, less commonly, depictions of the firehouse or other structure related to the fire department. are also extremely careful when picking the right color on the final coin design, as we have numerous shades of red and picking the right one can be very difficult.

Mason Challenge Coins

A lot of people may not realize that Masonry is still an important part of our country’s history and even current culture, and freemason organizations remain strong and active throughout the country. With Mason’s, they also like to make challenge coins.

Arguably the most important things to Mason’s are their symbols which they use as guides and reminders for living a successful life. Another important part is their buildings or halls. We have made a number of Mason coins and the challenge with them is often getting the placement of symbols correct and adhering to a high degree of accuracy and craftsmanship when it comes to the details hidden within both.

With so much detail being needed, this is a perfect example of why our design process works to the benefit of our customers and to create the best outcome possible with our challenge coin designs. We work with our artists on our designs until our customers are completely satisfied with their design, to the point of perfection.

Challenge Coin Trading

Challenge Coin trading is alive and well these days. It transcends military branches, LEO, Firefighters and our Civilian counterparts! It’s a truly awesome part of the Hobby! Sailor and Soldiers alike meet up online and in person to trade challenge coins. They hunt down old units that remind them of times past, friends lost or shipmates out to sea. It brings people together and it keeps veterans interacting with each other outside of the service. Its amazing to go to these Coin events with all the retired and Active Duty Members doing more than swapping coins they are swapping stories and knowledge. Challenge coins bring people together!

Pitch and Rudder sponsor a Facebook Group called Coined, it’s an online group where we focus on the stories behind the challenge coin. Where did you get your badass CMC coin? Who was the first Skipper that Palmed you? How many times a month do you look through your Stache of personal coins and remember old friends? Coined isn’t about the metal, it’s about what makes the metal a coin. Check it out here at Coined

Dedicated to Honoring Veterans

Many big corporations are natural places for veterans to go work in, particularly if that corporation is in defense or aerospace or otherwise promotes veteran hiring for their skills. With veterans being such a big part of some of these corporations, people like them or others like sports teams love to honor veterans for service. Nonprofits and governments similarly honor veterans frequently with a challenge coin.

We believe that a military tradition such as challenge coins should remain closely tied to the military and veteran community, not only in order to make sure new challenge coins keep some kind of tradition with them, but also because we believe something so closely tied with the military should also support the livelihoods of former military members.

Every member of Pitch and Rudder is an Active Duty or Retired Service member.

Creating Custom Challenge Coins with Pitch and Rudder

Here at Pitch and Rudder, we really hope that over the last few mins as you read through the article you gained some new information on custom challenge coins. We hope that you can take this and all the other articles that we have written and apply them to your own custom coins and make them even better! We would love to work with you designing some Rockstar coins but ultimately we wanted to ensure that your next venture was done with just a few more tools!

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, TERRY MAYNARD, Former CEO AND PRINCIPLE OWNER OF PITCH AND RUDDER LLC

Terry is a 22-year Veteran of the United States Navy, a Retired Senior Chief and a loving husband with four children. With 5 years’ experience designing, manufacturing and marketing Challenge Coins under his belt, it’s easy to see how his experience could help others hone their craft.

Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Opener

December 11, 2018 By PNR Leave a Comment

Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Openers

Bottle openers are simply a classic example of an early made machine. Using a lever and fulcrum, they pop the pleated cap off the bottle’s neck giving you access to that nectar of the gods, well mainly these days Beer!! You can be the star of the show when you pull out your Pitch and Rudder designed Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Opener. You’re already carrying a coin, why not kill two birds with one stone and make sure your coin has an awesome bottle opener designed into it.

Designing Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Openers

There are 3 ways to bridge the design on a bottle opener into a challenge coin, you can design it seamlessly into the design externally, externally and internally. Each has their place in the design process. Here at Pitch and Rudder we work really well seamlessly building your custom bottle opener into the design process so that it looks natural and not just slammed in there. Lets take a deeper look at these design process and see which one would be best for you.

Custom Challenge Coin bottle opener Internal design

This design is straight forward, we are going to lose some restate in the middle of the coin, where the bottle opener is going to be placed. They are extremely functional and very easy to use. Simply place the bottle cap into the hole and apply force and the bottle top is quickly release and pop off. A benefit to this styling of Challenge Coin Bottle opener is the ease of carry. There are really no sharp edges to get caught on your pockets. Here are a few examples of internal custom challenge coin bottle openers.

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Custom Challenge Coin bottle opener External “not seamless” design

When designing a bottle opener into a challenge coin and not using the internal design process we use non-seamless path when we can’t incorporate the opener into the design in a manner that appears totally natural. This is our least favorite method of designing challenge coin bottle openers and as such out of the hundreds of bottle opener challenge coins we have designed we have only used this method three times. Once with a Spartan Helmet, a tribal Hawaiian challenge coin and lastly with an aircraft Radar Pod. Simply well, because there is no natural way to put a bottle opener naturally on a Radar pod. They are effective and work well.

Custom Challenge Coin bottle opener External “Seamlessly” Design

This is our favorite way to design challenge coin bottle openers because your designing a bottle opener into a custom coin in a way that hides its true intent. The bottle opener doesn’t stand out, but works just as well as a standard externally designed bottle opener just flows so much cleaner. Below are a few of our examples of these types of bottle openers. Yes, it is easier to make a claw of a Bird into a bottle opener than say a tire on a truck but we have also made a beak, a Fox tail, a fish hook and many more. The best part of these designs is that when your looking at the challenge coin, you wouldn’t know that they are in fact bottle openers as well.

Choosing the Right Custom Bottle Opener Design

Both internal and external bottle openers have different characteristics, here is the kicker though, they don’t cost any different to have made into the coin. You can get creative with the hole portion of the bottle opener, fitting it into different design elements to make it really pop, like the mouth of a Gator, or you can choose to go seamlessly and have know one, know that its even an bottle opener until you save the day and open everyone’s beer at the lake!

Personalized Unique Bottle Openers

While Pitch and Rudder is a Challenge Coins company, we specialize in making custom products. Not all of our products are challenge coins. We have several unique bottle openers in our store that we have developed in the past for clients and some that we have designed as semi-custom. If your looking for something more of a unique bottle opener, let our team of Active duty and Retired Military Service members create something amazing just for you. In the end its all about your connection to the product, be it a Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Opener or a simply a Unique Bottle opener we want you to be satisfied with the product you have in your hand.

Create your own Custom Bottle Opener

Pitch and Rudder is making strides everyday streamlining the custom process, if you can dream it we can build rational; with that in mind, the we offer Free Art, Revisions and Shipping on all Custom bottle openers, Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Openers on all orders. Let us show you what it’s like to be served be Veterans, we want to honor your project and in the heart of everything we are collectors and want to make sure that at the end of the day you have a piece worthy of any collectors collection! If your having trouble designing your Custom Challenge Coin Bottle Opener take a look at our articles on challenge coin design, 2d vs 3d and how to build a perfect project on a budget. Just remember we are here to help!

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, TERRY MAYNARD, Former CEO AND PRINCIPLE OWNER OF PITCH AND RUDDER LLC

Terry is a 22-year Veteran of the United States Navy, a Retired Senior Chief and a loving husband with four children. With 5 years’ experience designing, manufacturing and marketing challenge coins under his belt, it’s easy to see how his experience could help other hone their craft

Retirement Challenge Coin, How Should you Design one.

December 7, 2018 By PNR 1 Comment

What is a Retirement Challenge Coin?

A Retirement Challenge Coin is such a broad term that’s thrown around so much these days. It’s in its simplest form a piece of metal with some words on it. But when It is done right by people who know what they are doing it’s a trigger for a memory. It’s like an old TV that beings the good or nightmarish memories to center stage. When you hold them in your palm, they can be like a warm hug that you’re handing off to a fellow shipmate, friend or solider. Everyone’s Coin is different because every story connected to them takes a different path. When you’re designing your challenge coin, that’s something you have to keep in mind, what is my story? What am I wanting someone to feel when I place this coin in their hand? What would it feel like if someone placed this Challenge coin in my hand? There are so many different answers to these questions, that’s why in my opinion there many different type and shapes of challenge coins are so. We have already covered generally practices in how to design challenge coins, now id like to take a deeper dive on what it takes to design Retirement challenge coins. These to me are very special coins, they celebrate a milestone in one’s life, signifying an end of one era and the start of something new and exciting! What you may not know is here at Pitch and Rudder we handle coins at cost. We are not going to make a dime on your life milestone. Having served in the United States Navy for 22 Years and having my own retirement coin, I couldn’t imagine having to decide if I should make a retirement coin or not based off of cost alone. So, we took it out of the equation. You pay what we pay, period. If you’re having problems coming up ideas take a look at our Pitch and Rudder Pinterest page, its full of ideas for designs on challenge coins!

Designing Retirement Challenge Coins

When your designing a retirement challenge coin, you should really look beyond just your years of service. What is that your tours of duty meant to you? What are you looking to do on the outside after your service has ended? Was there someone or something that just stood out to you during your years of service? All of these are important when designing your retirement challenge coin. For many of us that reach this point in our lives we have spent more time in the service than out of the service, take the time to think about what you want on your coin before you just slap something together and move on. We have already talked about how to design a challenge coin on a budget and what makes a great challenge coin design, but retirement challenge coins are a different sort of beast. Your handing someone a piece of your life in this coin that spanned 20 plus years. Let’s make sure we get it right!

Examples of Really Touching Retirement Challenge Coins

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Not all challenge coins are created equal and that can be said about retirement coins as well. We recently did a retirement coin for a First Class Petty Officer and his wife was making the coin for him as a gift. He was unaware of this act of kindness nor of the design. When we first started talking, the design was to be a Seal Trident with his commands listed on the back of the coin on the wings. Well as we talked, we started to realize that The FCPO was not a Team Member, but an HM assigned to the unit. Now had we been a regular Challenge Coin Company, we would have taken the money designed the challenge coin and moved on. Since we are not, we talked for a while longer got the entire story and figured out the real meaning for his coin. This retiring First class had always wanted to be a farmer and they were retiring back to their hometown to live on a farm. We designed his retirement challenge coin as a tractor tire. With his rank in the middle and his commands on the back. It turned out simply amazing.

My Personal Retirement Challenge Coin

Those that know me, know that I love my Sailors and I love to rag on the Mechs. See I’m an Aviation Electricians Mate and growing up in the Navy in aviation as an AE you are constantly pitted against the ADs. So we Joke with each other and clown around and fight, well yeah actually fight with each other whose system is causing the problem. So on the front of my Retirement challenge coin I have a joke about mechs, it says 110+110=220 which simply means two Rockstar mechs make one average electrician. I have a modified Senior Chief and AE globe with a Skull, Name and years of service. See all that is pretty standard with a retirement challenge coin. What makes my retirement coin unique is on the back. See my father passed when I was on my third deployment in the service and he was a great man! He taught me how to be successful without trying. But most importantly he allowed me to learn by watching what a good man looked like. On the back of my retirement challenge coin is a hand-drawn 3D picture of my father and the quote, “My father didn’t tell me how to LIVE, he LIVED and let me watch him do it.” When I palm someone my coin and I explain what it means and who he is, you see the sparkle in their eyes light up. That’s when you know, you’ve designed an amazing retirement challenge coin.

Retirement Challenge Coins in Summary

They can be simple and clean or as messy as our career was/is. The important part of the design is that they are yours. Your retirement coin should be the bridge between our story and your shipmates or soldiers, using your hand as the connection. There no better feeling for us as a company then receiving a thank you from one of our customers after they received their retirement coins. Custom Challenge coins are always awesome to design, but when your designing a retirement challenge coin, after spending 20 plus years serving as well is just indescribable.

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

ABOUT THE AUTHOR, TERRY MAYNARD, Former CEO AND PRINCIPLE OWNER OF PITCH AND RUDDER LLC

Terry is a 22-year Veteran of the United States Navy, a Retired Senior Chief and a loving husband with four children. With 5 years’ experience designing, manufacturing, and marketing challenge coins under his belt, it’s easy to see how his experience could help others hone their craft.

How to Design Challenge Coins

November 26, 2018 By PNR 7 Comments

So you want to Design a Challenge Coin?

Challenge coins are meant to mean something to the person that’s handing them out and to the person that is receiving them. At Pitch and Rudder, we are dedicated to fostering that emotional connection. So when your designing a challenge coin, that’s where it starts. What is it supposed to mean when you palm someone YOUR Challenge coin? Your Challenge coin could be for your Unit, Division or company but the bottom line is that its being designed by you. You’re designing a challenging coin, so you get to decide what that feeling should be. Now lets not get you spooled up on having to actually draw up the design, we have a team here to make your vision a reality. You give us the concept, what your trying to convey with the coin and our team of experts will design a challenge coin that meets all of your hearts needs!

Designing a challenge coin, the Art.

Once we have the general meaning of your coin laid out, now its time to fine tune what your challenge coin design should look like. First and foremost, this is YOUR challenge coin, so stay away from all the clipart and flash. That’s not a custom challenge coin, that’s a standard challenge coin and with your coin, your going to want something special from the start. Pick a company that has actual graphic designers not just photo-shop wizards.

How to Design a Challenge Coin Tips and Tricks

Now that we have the basics completed, lets take a look at the bigger picture items, are you wanting your coin to be more traditional or big and bold? A mixture of both? Pay attention to the size of fonts and the type of font used. Script font is hard to read no matter what size it is and should be avoided unless it can be used rather large to highlight something special.

3D or 2D? We just covered this topic in an earlier post, using a mixture of both elements can really capture the message that you’re looking for.
Size? How big are you looking to make your challenge coin? The average challenge coins size is 1.75 inches; however, that size is increasing every year. Are you looking to make something that you can palm someone and that they can carry or are you looking to make something that they need to leave on their desk? Deciding this direction early is a must when designing a challenge coin because everything else hangs in the balance.
Color? There are many different ways to add a touch of color to your challenge coins you can use standard color, lucent color or 3D color. Furthermore, you can also change the entire hue of your coin by changing the metal plating. For instance, if your looking to design a challenge coin with a rich wood background, plating the coin silver first is a mistake. It causes the wool grain to be dark and somewhat dirty in color; whereas, if you plate the coin in a gold metal first the lucent brown paint will make your challenge coin design look more warm and real.

So, what happens to those that don’t know all these tips or tricks when they set out to design a challenge coin, be it their first or 15^th coin in production. Well when they are working with Pitch and Rudder; nothing, our design team works fluidly with you, not only assisting you in designing your coin, but also in educating you in why we recommend doing this a certain way.

When designing a challenge coin, experience counts!

In our community if you’re not pressing the boundaries your being left behind. It was that way when our team was in the Military why would we change our behavior when we started a company? Pitch and Rudder is constantly pushing the envelope in designing challenging coins and we can take our experience to help give your vision to life.

Are you looking at designing a coin with a bottle opener attached or cut out? Don’t worry we have designed both.

Are you looking at designing a coin with a golf ball marker? Well how big would you like them? We’ve made markers shaped as bombs, Command Master Chief Pins, circles and oh this one time we made a 3d Coffee cup.

What about puzzle coins? Oh we did those as well, do you want it with magnets or no magnets? Dragons or no Dragons?

The point is, if you can think it, we can help you implement it into your design. We are here to help, because as much as we enjoy designing challenge coins, we collect them even more!

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Pitch and Rudder Services

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About the Author, Terry Maynard, Former CEO and Principle Owner of Pitch and Rudder LLC

Terry is a 22-year Veteran of the United States Navy, a Retired Senior Chief and a loving husband with four children. With 5 years’ experience designing, manufacturing and marketing challenge coins under his belt, it’s easy to see how his experience could help other hone their craft.