Why Material Choice Matters
The material you choose for your custom medals affects everything: how detailed the design can be, how the medal feels in hand, how long it lasts, and how much it costs. At MedalOrigin, we work with five metals, but zinc alloy and brass are the two most popular choices for premium medals. If you want the wider picture first — including iron, aluminium and stainless steel — our medal materials guide compares all five on density, process and cost.
Zinc Alloy: The Versatile Workhorse
Zinc alloy (specifically Zamak 3, 5, or 7) is our most popular material, and for good reason.
Key Properties
- Density: 6.7 g/cm³ — substantial without being heavy
- Melting point: 385°C (725°F) — flows beautifully into molds
- Process: Die-casting — injected under high pressure into steel molds
- Minimum thickness: 2mm
Advantages
- Best 3D detail: Molten zinc alloy at 385°C flows into every crevice of the mold, capturing intricate 3D details that stamping cannot achieve.
- Openwork (cut-out) designs: Zinc alloy die-casting is the only process that can create true hollow/openwork medal designs.
- Excellent plating adhesion: Zinc alloy takes electroplating better than any other medal material. Mirror gold, antique silver, rainbow plating — all look stunning on zinc alloy.
- Cost-effective: Lower material cost than brass, and the die-casting process is highly efficient at scale (30,000+ pieces per day).
Best For
- Medals with complex 3D relief (runners, buildings, logos)
- Openwork/cut-out designs
- Events needing 100-50,000+ medals
- Any design requiring multiple enamel colors
Brass: Premium Weight & Tradition
Brass has a long history in military medals, challenge coins, and commemorative awards.
Key Properties
- Density: 8.9 g/cm³ — noticeably heavier than zinc alloy
- Natural color: Warm gold-like tone
- Process: Stamping + cutting from brass sheet
- Minimum thickness: 3mm (hard to stamp thicker)
Advantages
- Premium heft: At 8.9 g/cm³, a brass medal feels substantially heavier and more “valuable” in hand.
- Fewer pores: Higher density means fewer internal air pockets — polished surfaces look flawless.
- Traditional appeal: Military units and government agencies often prefer or require brass for tradition and perceived value.
- Natural color: The warm yellow tone means minor scratches are less visible than on plated zinc alloy.
Limitations
- Higher cost: Brass is 20-40% more expensive than zinc alloy.
- Limited 3D detail: Stamping cannot achieve the deep relief and undercuts possible with die-casting.
- Thickness constraints: Brass thicker than 3mm is difficult to stamp precisely.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Feature | Zinc Alloy | Brass |
|---|---|---|
| 3D Detail | Excellent (die-cast) | Good (stamped) |
| Weight | Medium (6.7 g/cm³) | Heavy (8.9 g/cm³) |
| Cost | $$ | $$$ |
| Openwork | Yes | No |
| Plating | Excellent | Good |
| Best for | Complex designs, large orders | Traditional awards, challenge coins |
Which Should You Choose?
Choose zinc alloy if: You want the most design flexibility, intricate 3D details, openwork designs, or are ordering at volume. This is the right choice for 90% of custom medal projects.
Choose brass if: You need the premium weight and traditional feel, are producing military or government awards, or are making challenge coins where the weight is part of the perceived value.
FAQ: Zinc Alloy vs Brass Medals
Is brass or zinc alloy better for challenge coins? Brass, almost always. A challenge coin is handled constantly and judged by weight before it is judged by design. At 8.9 g/cm³ brass is 33% denser than zinc alloy at 6.7 g/cm³, and that difference is the first thing anyone notices when they pick the coin up. Brass also takes antique finishes with richer contrast, which is what makes unit insignia read clearly. See our military medals and challenge coins page for how we spec them.
How much heavier is a brass medal than a zinc alloy one? About 33% heavier at the same volume. A standard 1.75-inch (44mm) coin in brass weighs roughly 30 grams; the identical coin in zinc alloy weighs about 22 grams. That 8-gram gap is the difference between “this feels substantial” and “this feels like a bottle cap.” Because brass is also stamped rather than cast, going thicker does not add weight efficiently — if you want more perceived weight in zinc, the better lever is more diameter, not more thickness.
Can brass medals have enamel colour? Yes, but with a real limitation. Brass is stamped from flat sheet, so the relief is shallower than die-cast zinc — and enamel needs a recessed border to sit in. Soft enamel on brass works well for simple, bold colour areas. What brass cannot do is the deep 3D relief and openwork (cut-out) shapes that zinc alloy die-casting handles, because stamping cannot form undercuts. If your design depends on intricate 3D detail or cut-outs, zinc alloy is the only one of the two that can produce it.
Why can’t brass do openwork or cut-out designs? Because of how the metal is formed. Openwork requires molten metal to flow around a steel core inside the mould — that is die-casting, which is how zinc alloy is produced at 385°C under our 88-ton presses. Brass is stamped: a flat blank is pressed between dies. Stamping can punch holes, but it cannot form the sculpted, undercut shapes that true openwork needs. Our 12-step manufacturing process shows where casting and stamping diverge.
Does zinc alloy tarnish or wear out over time? Not when the plating is done properly. The durability comes from the plating stack, not the base metal. We run nine plating stages, including 500 seconds of alkaline copper as the base layer, followed by 20 to 60 minutes of acid copper. That base is what stops the finish lifting or discolouring. Every batch is then cured at 100°C for 40 minutes to fix the plating and the lacquer. Cutting the plating stages is the single most common way a “cheap” zinc medal ends up looking tired within a year — which is why we do not offer a shortened plating option.
What is the minimum order for each material? 100 pieces per design for both zinc alloy and brass. The minimum is per design, not per order — so four different designs means 400 pieces, not 100. Because brass costs 20 to 40% more per unit than zinc alloy, brass orders are usually reserved for military, government and commemorative projects where the weight carries meaning. Volume pricing steps apply from 300, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 pieces for either material.
Can I see my design in both materials before deciding? Yes. Send us your artwork and we will produce a free design proof in 24 hours, showing your medal rendered in both zinc alloy and brass with the appropriate finish for each. That way you can compare the look and the cost side by side before committing to tooling. Most clients who ask for both end up choosing zinc alloy for the body of their order and brass only for a small run of premium or commemorative pieces.
Still Not Sure?
Our design team can recommend the best material based on your specific design, budget, and event. Contact us for a free consultation — we will create a design in both materials so you can compare.
Prefer to keep reading first? Browse our full range of custom medals, see how a design gets prepared in the medal design guide, or compare the two materials as they apply to military medals and challenge coins, where brass is the traditional choice.
Related reading: rotating-centre custom medals — medals with a rotating centre, including 3D inner elements and custom plating.
