Custom Coins

How to GO CUSTOM

January 14, 2019 By PNR 1 Comment

One question customers ask constantly is, “How do I get Challenge Coins?”. Whether you want a single coin to give as a gift or several coins to complete a collection, Pitch and Rudder has you covered with thousands of options to choose from, all conveniently located on the retail section of our website. To receive custom-made challenge coins for yourself or your organization, the first step is to request a quote on the GO Custom of our website. After determining your quote, we will be with you every step of the way, from design to delivery, to ensure your complete satisfaction with the final product. Without further ado, let’s get started on creating your next coin!

of our website. After determining your quote, we will be with you every step of the way, from design to delivery, to ensure your complete satisfaction with the final product. Without further ado, let’s get started on creating your next coin!

Step 1: Get A Quote

First, as stated above, you will want to reach out to us for a quote to ensure that you are getting the perfect coin that catches your eye and satisfies your budget. To create an accurate quote for your order, we’ll first need to know what size, finishes, and color schemes you want your coin(s) to have. Next, we’ll need to know how many coins to include in your order, whether you want a 2-or-3-D product, and if you want any additional features added to the final product. Here are some helpful tips to consider when talking to us about these details.

Size: The most common size for a coin is a diameter of 1.75,” but 1.5” and 2” are also common sizes. We may need an extra day to calculate a quote for other sizes.

Finish: The most common finishes you can choose from are Antique Brass, Nickel, Antique Silver, Antique Copper, Antique Gold, Shiny Gold, and Black Nickel. An antique finish makes it easier to read the coin’s text and see 3-D detail. A Shiny finish gives your coin a regal, high-value appearance. You can also combine different finishes on the same coin for a two-tone finish. Police and sheriff’s offices often request two-toned coins with the badge highlighted in gold and the rest of the coin finished in silver.

Colors: Pitch and Rudder offers a flat rate of $.35 per side to add any number and combination of colors to your coin. This is one of the best deals in the industry. Ask us for advice about which colors look the best together if you are unsure about what you want!

Quantity: The price of each coin drops significantly as you increase your order size. We can fulfill orders for a single coin, but the best price will be for orders of at least 100 coins. If you are unsure of how many coins you will need, please tell us the quantity you want to be quoted for in the notes section of the quote request form.

2-D or 3-D Design: If you want images on your coin to “pop out,” then you will want to request a 3-D design. Some designs require it and your coin sales representative will suggest it in that case. Some 3-D effects will increase the price of the die-mold, but this usually does not change the order’s total cost per coin.

Step 2: Deposit

After the quote is agreed upon your order will be charged a $150 deposit fee. The artwork is free, so this deposit is applied to your total order. The remaining balance of your order, total minus the deposit, is due before your finished coin can be shipped.

Step 3: Design

You will get unlimited design edits on your coin, and we will accept artwork in any format. You can send us your desired design electronically in standard formats like .pdf, .ai, or .jpg, or mail or fax us your hand-drawings. Our experienced staff and designers have processed 40,000 different coin orders, so you can feel confident that you will be receiving a top-quality coin!

Production and Delivery:

Once we have received your approved artwork, production takes between 14 to 18 days to complete. We will then deliver your order right to your doorstep.

We make ordering challenge coins easy by doing all the hard work for you. We will take your vision and turn it into a coin that will last for centuries to come! Please take the simple first step of filling out the Go Custom and we will do the rest.

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.

How business can use custom challenge coins

January 14, 2019 By PNR Leave a Comment

business and custom challenge coins

The History of the Custom Challenge Coin and How Businesses Can Use Them

The history of the custom challenge coin goes back about a hundred years. They’ve widely been used in the military to signify brotherhood and units.

The challenge coin has long been a symbol of camaraderie, passion, and pride. Pride in the work the unit does, passion for the country, and camaraderie that’s unique to the military.

That’s been recognized and adopted by organizations outside of the military. Today, they’re used by first responders, governments, non-profit organizations, and businesses. Even the President has one (and he just gave it a makeover).

Read on to learn more about these unique coins and how you can use them in your business.

What is a Challenge Coin?

A challenge coin is a coin that carries the unique insignia or mottos of a group or unit. Usually seen in the military, these coins give those who carry them a sense of pride.

The size of challenge coins was originally about one inch in diameter. Now, they’re about 1.75″ in diameter. Most of them are round, just like a coin, but there are some that are in the shape of a rectangle or pentagon.

They’re issued to show appreciation, for serving in a military operation, and soldiers will show them to identify themselves as part of a particular unit.

They’re traded and exchanged like trading cards or business cards among military members.

History of the Challenge Coin

No one truly knows how the challenge coin became pervasive in the U.S. Military.

The most common story is that a wealthy American lieutenant created insignia and had medallions made for his unit during World War I. He was fighter pilot was shot down and captured by German soldiers, who took all of his ID, with the exception of the coin he kept in a leather pouch.

He escaped and managed to make contact with French villagers, who thought he was a German spy and sought to kill him.

He pulled out his coin and a French soldier identified the symbol, which saved his life.

Other stories that may or may not be the first use of the challenge coin come from World War II and Vietnam.

The challenge coin tradition took shape in the 1960s when the 10th Special Forces Group became the first and only military unit to commission its own coin. It remained the only unit in the Army with its own challenge coin until the 1980s. That’s when the tradition became standard among military units.

The truth is, the use of coins in the military goes back to the Romans. Roman soldiers received coins for their pay after a day on the battlefield. Soldiers were recognized for an extraordinary job with another coin.

These coins were thought to have been specially produced to reflect different Roman military units.

The challenge coin tradition can even be found in other countries. Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom are just a few of the countries that have embraced what challenge coins represent.

Where Does “Challenge” Come From?

How did a challenge coin get to be called a challenge coin?

The challenge comes in the form of a coin check to make sure all members of a unit are carrying their coins.

This usually occurs at a bar, where one member (the challenger) will slap their coin on the bar. That’s a call for everyone else to immediately show that they have their coins present.

If everyone has their coin on them, the challenger has to buy a round of drinks. Whoever does not have their coin present has to buy a round for the challenger and everyone else.

Why You Should Use Them in Your Business

The reasons why these are used in the military can be carried over to your business. If your employees are short on passion, pride and camaraderie, consider getting challenge coins for your team.

There are other reasons why you should have challenge coins in your business.

Team Building

How fun would it be if your sales team were sitting around at a meeting table and someone tried to challenge the rest of the team, with the challenger having to buy lunch for everyone?

Those are the times where everyone in the room is laughing and having fun and creates a true team environment.

Brand Building

Challenge coins used as part of marketing promotions is a unique way to make your company stand out.

A custom challenge coin can make a positive first impression for your brand and will help your company stand out from competitors.

With a challenge coin, you can use your logo, company name, or the vision and mission statement of the organization.

Recognize Outstanding Work

Employees who are appreciated are more engaged. They’re also motivated by recognition, appreciation, and a fun workplace.

They are not motivated by money.

With a challenge coin created just for outstanding employees, your employees get to experience all three.

Walk Together Forever

Challenge coins can present an opportunity to bond. Have you ever been a part of a big project or was part of a team where everyone worked hard, worked overtime, and the team succeeded?

Those are special moments. They happen in team sports, in business, in the military.

Those are the moments that bind everyone together and you don’t forget.

As a manager, you can make those memories last by giving a challenge coin to each member. It’s a way to recognize the hard work, the fun, and the memories that last long after the work is complete!

Ways to Add a Custom Challenge Coin to Your Business

Does your team have any special projects or objectives to meet?

Maybe you have different sales teams competing for the highest sales volume. Perhaps there’s a conference or trade show and you want your company to stand out.

Here are just some of the ways to add these special coins to your business:

Reward Outstanding Teams
Appreciate Individual Employees
Marketing Promotions
Customer Appreciation
Business Cards

The possibilities are endless. You can get as creative as you want with how you incorporate challenge coins.

Get a Unique Custom Challenge Coin

A challenge coin is a great way to reward team members, bring teams together, and bring fun into your work.

Want a unique custom challenge coin for your business? Have a look at design options and get a free quote today!

PITCH AND RUDDER SERVICES

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.

Puzzle Challenge Coin, Season of Pride!

January 15, 2018 By PNR Leave a Comment

The Concept

When we look back over all the projects that we have completed over the last two years, there are a few that just stand on their own as easily some of our favorites! NAF Atsugi has to be on the hardest designed challenge that we have had the privilege to design from the ground up. It was our First Puzzle Challenge Coin It tested what we could do as a manufacturer! It tested what we could bring to life from metal. Before we were able to bring to life one of favorite custom designed challenge coins, lets start from the beginning! The design concept was pretty straight forward, the client wanted a dragon chasing its tail that broke apart into six pieces to represent the commands on the base. We immediately knew it was a project that we wanted to do! the issues we had to get around:

weight // if its too heavy it would fall apart in your hand, not much of a puzzle challenge coin if it does that…. More like a stale nasty cookie, no one wants that!
thickness. how do we get the detail, but keep it thin enough to get the weight down. Also had to be thick enough to hide the magnets
Timeline, none of this was going to be a standard coin; however, the timeline was condensed due to the Season of Pride

Communication and Art

With every Coin that we work, our team got together and talked about the design and time requirements and possible pain points and how we could get around them! We designated a design lead for the project and it was off to the races! This project Grady got to business and started with a hand drawling of the dragon. Once completed he digitized and submitted to the client for approval. Due to the abbreviated timeline, we remained in constant contact with the client over the next few days to hammer out the projects and when we were completed it was ready for CNC. For those of you new to the Custom Challenge Coin game, there are three different types of Art prior to having a coin made.

Concept, this is done by your company depending on their skill they may or may not use the second type of art
Factory, this is the concept art redefined by the factory, we don’t use this version of art
CNC Art, ALWAYS REQUEST THIS, this is the computerized 3D landscaped of elevation of the coin. A non color version of what the coin will actually look like when it is created. Of course we would love for you to use us when making your custom coins; however, if you don’t ALWAYS request this image prior to sample.

Adapt and Overcome

Now here is where we started understanding the issues that we were tackling and how to fix them. We were looking at making a Big bold coin, that wasn’t going to work in this project. The first request from the client was that the dragon be 8mm thick and the inside be 4mm like a standard designed Challenge coin. Here lies the problem, as soon as we starting working the math into the equation. yep, we design Challenge coins and I just wrote that we used Math our Pizza Dragon Puzzle design Challenge Coin was out the window! the Stuffed Crust dragon would be too heavy to keep the center together. Back to the design board, how thin would we have to go to make it workable? How would we make the 3D still Kill? Oh and yeah, still need to make sure we have them on time…..

So I started reaching out to our manufacturing partners about different processes, 95% of all Custom Challenge Coins are created in the same manner. We CNC a reverse mold and we press the two pieces together like a clam shell with a softer metal in the middle. But with that we need deep lines for great 3D cuts. Now there is a second method where each coin is CNC’d one at a time, the process is pain staking longer (here’s that time thing again) but the detail would be amazing very little polishing was required prior to plating (gained some time back) this might be the winner.

Final Thoughts

So after careful thought and communication with both the client and the manufacture we proceeded with the CNC manner and what you see is the final outcome. An amazing beautiful work of art that masquerades as a Puzzle designed custom Challenge Coin!