Learning Center

The approved proof from design is the blueprint the shop works from. A steel die, the mold, is cut from that artwork. Round coins are die struck: blanks are punched from sheet metal and the die stamps the design into each blank under pressure. Custom shapes and 3D coins are die cast: molten zinc alloy is poured into the mold, which fills fine contours better than striking.

The edge is cut or finished, and then the coin is plated. If the design has color, enamel is filled into the recessed areas and cured. After that the coin is polished and inspected, then packed. United States coins take printed color instead of enamel.

Round coins are struck from brass. Custom shapes and high-relief 3D coins are cast in a zinc alloy. Copper and iron are also used, and aluminum is too, depending on the look and the budget. Every coin gets a plating layer of gold, silver, copper, black nickel, black metal, or an antique version of those, and that plating is the color of the finished metal.

A coin with a built-in bottle opener needs a base metal that stands up to repeated use. Some of the metals that allow elaborate 3D detail and custom shapes wear faster against bottle caps, so the rep helps pick the metal for that job.

The mold is a steel die cut from the approved artwork, one per side that carries a design. Cutting it is the one-time setup of a coin order, so the mold fee is paid on the first order of a design and not on reorders. The fee scales with the size of the coin and with whether one or both sides are struck.

Sandblasted or stippled fields are cut into the mold at no extra charge. Changing that texture later means a new mold, because a factory does not rework an existing mold's texture. We keep the mold on file for 3 years from the most recent order, and every reorder in that window restarts the 3 years. You can reuse your own mold for a new coin of the same size and shape, such as a new back on an existing front, and no one can use another customer's mold.

Color goes into the recesses the die created, so raised metal lines separate the colors. Soft enamel is the standard, filled and cured so it sits slightly below the raised metal. Hard enamel, called cloisonné, is an upgrade that is polished flush after firing so the surface is glassy.

Other fill options are translucent enamel, glitter fill, and glow-in-the-dark enamel. An epoxy dome coats a whole side in clear, and offset or UV printing lays a printed image for gradients and detail too fine for enamel. Enamel is priced by the side, regardless of how many colors appear in the design. A coin ordered with no color, which the price tables call die struck, takes its contrast from the plating alone, usually an antique finish. A United States coin with color is struck and printed into its recesses under a clear coat, in 1.5, 1.75 or 2 inches. The rush coin is printed on a ready-made 1.75 inch blank, and printed color can carry gradients and fine images.

A 3D coin starts with a sculpt, and an artist models that relief from the approved proof so faces, animals, mascots, buildings, and vehicles have real depth and contour. That sculpt becomes the 3D mold, a paid upgrade charged per side, and 3D coins are cast in zinc alloy rather than struck because casting fills the contours.

3D relief is finished as plated metal, usually with an antique plating so the high and low areas catch light and shadow, and enamel color is kept to the flat areas of the design. One 3D side can pair with a flat, color-filled side, and a common build puts the 3D image on the front and the color on the back. 3D adds production time, and the sales rep confirms the timeline before the proof is approved.

Production starts at payment, or when we accept a purchase order. Emails and proof revisions don't count toward production time. Standard production for coins is 3-4 weeks, often sooner, plus a few days in transit to a United States address. Specialty upgrades add production time, and those upgrades include 3D sculpting, dual or specialty plating, special enamels, UV printing, moving parts such as spinners, and custom presentation packaging.

American made die struck coins, with or without color, usually ship in 7-10 days, and the rush coin usually ships in 3-5 days. Rush options exist for an event or ceremony date. Give the rep the deadline up front, because the rep confirms the turnaround before the proof is approved on overseas orders and on American-made coins.