Custom Military Medals & Challenge Coins — Honor Cast in Metal

Brass for challenge coins. At 8.9 g/cm³ it is 33% heavier than zinc alloy (6.7 g/cm³), and that weight difference is the first thing anyone notices when they pick up the coin. Brass also accepts antique finishes with richer contrast. Zinc alloy is better suited for large medals (3 inches and above) where brass would be too heavy and expensive. We quote both materials so you can compare cost vs feel directly. Most military commands choose brass for coins and zinc alloy for oversized presentation pieces.

Yes. Gold body with nickel (silver) insignia is the most common military request — the unit crest stands out clearly against the background. The process involves masking the areas that should remain the first finish, applying the second finish to the unmasked areas, then removing the mask. A small per-unit surcharge applies for the additional plating step and masking labor. Dual-plating works especially well on coins with a central crest or badge element.

1.75 inches (44mm) is the most common challenge coin size — palm-sized, substantial without being bulky. 2 to 2.5 inches (50 to 63mm) for presentation and command-level coins — the extra diameter gives more surface area for complex insignia and engraving. 1.25 to 1.5 inches (32 to 38mm) for pocket coins — designed to be carried daily. Standard thickness is 3 to 4mm; oversized presentation coins can go up to 6mm for maximum heft.

Yes. Laser engraving on the coin edge or back surface. Sequential numbering (001 through 500) or custom variable data from your provided file — names paired with numbers, ranks with dates, any alphanumeric format. Edge numbering keeps the coin face clean for design while marking each piece individually. Back engraving allows longer data strings. Data programming setup is a one-time per-order cost; per-unit engraving cost is minimal.

Yes. Every coin order includes individual velvet pouches as standard. Upgrades available: rigid velvet gift boxes with satin interior lining, clear acrylic display capsules with black base stands, wooden display cases with engraved nameplates, and custom-cut foam inserts that hold the coin securely. Each presentation option is quoted separately based on quantity and specifications. For military ceremonies and retirement presentations, velvet boxes and wooden cases are the most popular choices.

No. Your mold is your property. It is cut specifically for your unit's design, labeled with your unit designation, and archived in our secure mold library. It is never used for another client. It is never shown to another client as a sample. When you reorder, we retrieve your mold, produce your coins, and return it to archive. If you ever request the mold be shipped to you or destroyed, we provide documented confirmation. Unit identity is not for resale.

Yes. Send us the original coin or clear photographs with a ruler for scale reference. We will reproduce the design — same size, shape, relief details, plating, and enamel colors — and in most cases we can improve it: deeper 3D relief, sharper edge definition, richer antique finish, or upgraded hard enamel. We will also quote any improvements separately so you can decide what to upgrade. Many commands come to us specifically because their previous supplier's quality declined, and they need a consistent replacement.

Standard production timeline is 3 to 4 weeks after sample approval. The process: 24 hours for free design and 3D renderings, 7 to 10 days for a physical pre-production sample, and once the sample is approved, 2 to 3 weeks for full production plus shipping time. Rush production is available at 2 to 3 weeks total when materials are in stock and the plating schedule has capacity. For time-sensitive orders — change of command ceremonies, deployment departures, Veterans Day events — tell us your deadline in your first message and we will confirm what timeline is achievable.

100 pieces per design. One design means one artwork, one finish and one size — the same crest struck in two finishes or two sizes counts as two production runs. Unit price steps down at 300, 500, 1,000 and 5,000+ pieces, so a battalion-level order is quoted at a materially lower per-coin cost than a 100-piece squadron order, even though both use the same mold. Because our output runs above 30,000 pieces a day, even a 5,000-piece order is produced as one continuous program rather than spread across weeks — which is what keeps the plating bath and the antique finish consistent from the first coin to the last.

Every quantity moves through the same three stages: free design and 3D renderings within 24 hours, a sample in 7 to 10 days, then 7 to 15 days of mass production once the sample is approved. Quantity does not change the front end — a 100-piece order and a 1,000-piece order spend the same time in design, mold cutting and proofing. What changes is the production window inside the factory: at more than 30,000 pieces a day, 1,000 coins is a short run, while 5,000 and above is scheduled in sequence across die-casting and plating lines. Add transit time for your region — we ship to 50+ countries. If you have a hard date, tell us in your first message and we will confirm whether a rush slot is open before you commit.

Yes to both, and they are often combined on the same coin. Numbering is laser-engraved — around the edge so both faces stay clean for artwork, or on the back when you need longer data strings. Sequential runs such as 001 through 500, or variable data straight from your roster file: name, rank, dates, unit designator. Two-sided 3D relief is produced by die-casting zinc alloy (Zamak 3, 5 and 7, melted at 385℃) on 88-ton machines, with a 2 mm minimum wall thickness and typical sculptural depth of 0.5 to 2 mm. Doubling the relief doubles the mold work, so it is quoted as a separate tooling line — worth it for a coin meant to be turned over in the hand rather than laid flat in a case.

Vector files are the best starting point — AI, EPS, PDF or CDR — because insignia line work is cut straight into the mold from vector paths, and vector art scales without losing edge definition. Supply Pantone references for any enamel colors; we match to Pantone standards. Watch the fill limits: soft enamel holds detail down to 0.3 mm, while imitation hard enamel and glass enamel hold down to 0.5 mm. Text or line work thinner than that will not fill cleanly and should be thickened in the artwork stage. If all you have is a photograph of an existing coin, a unit patch or a crest sheet, send it — we redraw it as vector art for free, inside 24 hours, and nothing is cut until you approve the rendering. Full-color artwork with gradients or photography is handled by UV printing, which holds registration on relief up to 7 mm.

It follows the geometry of your insignia, not a house preference. Die-casting injects zinc alloy (Zamak 3, 5 and 7) at 385℃ on 88-ton machines, so it fills complex 3D, cut-outs and irregular shield or badge outlines, and it holds a 2 mm minimum wall. Stamping strikes brass at 8.9 g/cm³ or iron at 7.8 g/cm³ from sheet stock — the right choice for flat or shallow-relief crests with clean line work, and the process behind most traditional challenge coins where weight in the hand is the point. Brass becomes hard to strike above roughly 3 mm and iron above roughly 4 mm, which is the practical ceiling. We quote both against your actual artwork so you can see the difference in tooling and unit price before you commit.

Your mold is cut in mold steel, heat-treated for hardness and wear resistance, labeled with your unit designation and archived in our secure mold library. It is never used for another client and never shown to another client as a sample. When you come back the following year, we retrieve it instead of re-tooling, so the new batch matches the last one. A change of year or date is the most common amendment, and it is quoted as a tooling amendment rather than a complete new mold. If you ever want the mold shipped to you or destroyed, we provide documented confirmation.

The faults worth understanding are the ones that appear in the metal rather than in the artwork. Cracks come from too few ejector pins or pins distributed unevenly, so the casting is pushed out of the mold under uneven force. Flow lines come from a cavity that is not polished enough, insufficient machine pressure, or a shot fired too fast. Porosity means the mold is not venting properly. Sharp corners that fail to fill mean the pressure is too low for that part. Plating blisters trace back to parts that were not cleaned properly before the bath, or to sealing oil baked before the part was fully dry. Every order passes three inspection gates — after casting, after plating and after color filling — before it is packed. Send us the sample photographs you are comparing against and we will tell you which of these to look for.

Yes, and it is better to request it at quote stage than at purchase-order stage. Our factory holds ISO 9001 quality management, BSCI, Sedex, Reach and RoHS, audited annually, alongside Disney FAMA and additional environmental and social compliance standards — 8 active certifications in total. Certificate copies are issued with your quote so the procurement file can be built before you commit budget. We also issue line-item quotes, with the mold fee, unit price, plating, numbering and packaging broken out separately, because institutional purchasing usually has to code each line against its own budget heading.

The 100-piece minimum applies to a production run, not to the mold. Your mold stays in the archive under your unit designation whether you order 100 or 5,000, so an annual reorder never carries a new tooling line — the year or date change is quoted as a tooling amendment instead. If you need a short top-up, tell us the quantity in your first message and we will confirm whether it can be scheduled as a shorter run alongside other work on the die-casting line. Most annual programs simply reorder at the tier they used the first time, because unit price steps down at 300, 500, 1,000 and 5,000+ pieces and the per-coin difference across those tiers is usually larger than the saving from ordering fewer.

Yes, and it is one of the strongest combinations for a command coin. The sequence matters: the coin is plated, then the antique effect is developed by electrophoresis, which deposits into the recesses and leaves the raised surfaces bright. Dual-plating adds a masking step so one area takes gold while another takes nickel, and the antique pass then runs over both — the result is a gold field with a nickel crest, each reading at a different depth. Because the two finishes meet at a masked boundary, keep that boundary on a raised metal line rather than on a flat field, so the transition reads as a design feature rather than a seam. A small per-unit surcharge covers the masking and the second plating step; the antique pass is priced on the same line as any other antique finish.

On the edge. Laser engraving around the rim leaves both faces entirely free for the crest, which is why it is the placement most commands choose — the coin reads as a designed object face-on and only reveals its number when you turn it over. If the rim is already carrying edge lettering, the alternative is a small flat panel on the reverse, kept clear of the relief at the artwork stage; that is the placement to use when you need longer strings such as a name paired with a service date. Both placements read from the same roster file, so specify which one you want on the drawing rather than after the sample arrives.

Every coin is packed individually in a velvet pouch as standard, then cartoned, with the piece count per carton recorded on the packing list. Upgrades — rigid velvet boxes, acrylic capsules with black base stands, wooden cases with engraved nameplates, or custom-cut foam inserts — are packed to the same count and quoted separately. Shipment paperwork covers the packing list and the commercial documents your import process requires, prepared for the country you are shipping to; we export to 50+ countries. If your receiving office needs certificate copies, a QC record or a country-of-origin statement collated with the shipment rather than with the quote, ask for it when you approve the sample and we will assemble it before the cartons leave Huizhou.