Dual Plated
Challenge Coins
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What are dual plated challenge coins?
Dual plating puts two metal finishes on a single coin. We plate only the raised areas you assign to each metal, so a crest can come up gold while the coin around it stays silver. Gold with silver is the pairing we apply most often. Other pairings are available when the artwork needs a different mix. Color fills the recessed spots after both metals are set. The two platings separate those raised metal parts. That metal-on-metal contrast is something enamel alone can’t achieve.
With one plating, the important part of the design blends into the rest. Dual plating stops that by setting a second metal on the raised parts you choose, most often gold beside silver. Police departments and sheriff’s offices use it so the insignia resembles the two-tone badge their people wear. Military commands and government agencies want that official look in a handshake. A college or academy requests it for a commemorative coin, and a retiring officer wants the portrait sitting forward of the lettering.
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Device in Gold
Field in Silver
On a badge-shaped coin, plate the raised device in gold and leave the field in silver. Enamel still fills the recessed color around those metals. If your badge puts gold on the rim and silver on the device, we will match that split.
Give the Face
Its Own Metal
A retirement or anniversary coin has one job once it leaves the case. People look for the face before they read the dates. Plate that face in one metal and leave the ring in the other, and the eye lands where you meant it to land.
Highlight
With Contrast
Choose one key element of your design to receive the second metal plating. The two polished finishes sit side by side on the raised surfaces while enamel fills the recessed color areas. When the coin rests in the palm the plated element catches the light first and draws the eye.
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We've got answers
The questions below are the ones groups ask us before they commit to a coin with both finishes.
We offer gold, silver and copper platings standard with our orders. We also offer upgraded antique finishes that give an aged look to your coins. Antique finishes help greatly when your design is mostly metal (die struck) as the darker recessed areas provide a greater contrast for text and fine lines. We also offer some specialty colored metals that have a similar appearance to powder-coating (no charge), black nickel (a shiny gunmetal appearance), and now an iridescent rainbow plating (price on request).
The minimum order is 50 coins, but we always recommend ordering 100 due to the quantity discount at this quantity. Typically ordering 100 coins is only ~20% more expensive than ordering 50.
Our coins are made from brass metal if they are round. If the coins are a special shape or feature a high-relief 3D design, the material is a zinc alloy. We can also make coins out of copper, iron, and aluminum depending on your needs.
We keep your coin’s mold for a period of 3 years. If you reorder in that 3 year period, the 3 year storage period starts over!
We have multiple options for production location depending on your design choice and budget. We have manufacturing here in Florida and also overseas. Please consult with one of our sale professionals about what will work best for your challenge coin order.
You do not pay for a mold fee again on a reorder as long as the previous mold is still on file (kept for 3 years from the latest order date).