Designing the Best Custom Army Challenge Coin - Plating Options

There are lots of questions regarding how to design a custom challenge coin and what people need to know regarding the different options they have. We just posted up a Buyer's Guide on our site to help people when researching custom built challenge coins. Here we will go in-depth into some more options. For the complete guide visit our site:
Custom Challenge Coins

 

Challenge Coin Plating: Designing the Best Custom Coin

One of the choices you will have when designing a custom challenge coin is that of – What type of plating do I want/need? In this guide we will go in-depth on each of the plating styles and options to help you with your decision.

There are basically eleven different platings for a challenge coin. They are: Brass, Antique Brass, Copper, Antique Copper, Silver, Antique Silver, Nickel, Antique Nickel, Black Nickel, Gold and Antique Gold.

Why choose antique plating?

The process requires some time and extra effort put into it.  That’s why the finished product looks as incredible as it does.  When you look at an antiqued challenge coin, you know that you are getting a really special gift.

Years of service award coins and medallions often are antiqued.  This helps give the appearance that they are old and therefore honorable.  Recipients of these items enjoy being able to look at their gift and know where it came from.  This helps add to the coin or medallion’s perceived value.  People will be more inclined to hold onto it if they think that it will be collectible someday.

Each one will give your unit’s coin its own characteristic, look and feel. One of the best ways to choose which option you like the best is to pull out your own challenge coin collections and ask yourself which coin best represents the look and feel you are trying to create with your own custom coin.

The plating you choose will depend on the look you want your coin to portray and the dominant colors on your coin. For example, silver and nickel are popular with the Air Force and Navy. Brass is popular with the Army and Marines. Antique plating’s are used to make the coin look older or to give it a weathered look. It is a special process that dulls the plating color. Gold is chosen for its perceived value. It is 24k, however, gold has a tinge to it and most prefer brass. Black nickel is used for special applications where you need to highlight a part of a coin design.

What is Dual Plating?

Dual plating is one of the more popular options and can make your coin look very striking and adds to its collectability. Dual plated challenge coins are created when two different types of metal are used on one design.  Classic combinations like gold and silver give custom coins their distinct appearance. Rather than use paint to achieve the effect of two different colors, the two metals on a dual plated challenge coin are used to create contrast. People that want to make their custom challenge coins look distinguished, often choose dual plating to give their design contrast as well as class.

This adds appeal to any design and images stand out against their backgrounds. Dual plated challenge coins are popular with military units, civil service employees, and corporations with employee recognition award programs.

Whatever plating option you decide upon will ultimately be decided upon by your personal taste. I hope this guide will help you in choosing the right challenge coin plating option for your coin. For more information regarding design a custom challenge coin and to see our in-depth custom coin guide, please visit our website: http://armychallengecoinsforsale.com