Democrat and Republican Heads or Tails Challenge Coin
A new coin has hit the street this week on U.S. Challenge Coins. With the spirit of the Presidential Elections and other popular elections coming up we have been given choices but sometimes that choice isn’t the easiest to make. They have taken the thought out of the voting booth when you are on the fence. With this new coin you simply just toss it up and call heads or tails and you are in. They made this coin in a fantastic 1.75″ nickel plated finish that will keep glistening from your display for years to come. Read more
Replicas and Counterfiets Have Their Place
Replica challenge coins and even the counterfiets are not popular in today’s collecting and we absolutely do not support the making of these coins. The Society feels the remaking of a coin no matter what coin it is shows unoriginality, and theft of someone else’s work. However, by taking a look into reality as long as the hobby is so popular we know it will continue. So what do we do with the market share of unauthentic coins? Besides tracking down sellers of these coins we could learn to embrace or tolerate it to a degree. What do we mean? Read more
U.S. Challenge Coins Announces Hard Enamel for All
With improvements in design, minting, and other aspects of the challenge coin industry it’s not a surprise to see companies upgrading their processes. U.S. Challenge Coins .com just did a major upgrade that separates them even further from any other coin site. They have brought Hard Enamel to the custom challenge coin making field. Bringing the process is small beans as almost every company provides this. However, they are the first to offer it free of charge. For what you use to pay to receive soft enamel you now get hard enamel in place.
Why is this a big deal? Your coins can be covered in soft enamel and continue to look dull and unexciting but if you are one of USCC’s customers then your coins are going to look breath taking, exciting, and unbelievable. Hard enamel or Cloisonnes as some call it is like liquid glass. This is very hard and does not scratch easy. This is the mother of finishes and these guys went and made it better by adding it for free to every coin order instead of raising prices.
With the company’s growth they have been just increasing like a monster and are able to do better because of the quantity of coins. Usually there is a stigma that quantity affects the quality but in this case it increases it. If you are looking to get some coins produced then this is the time to get them made with U.S. Challenge Coins as they the only company to add an unbeatable offer like this.
Challenge Coin: Authentic or Original
In challenge coin collecting, coins can be changed such as epoxy removed or colors redone as time goes by. By having these modifications done you are changing the original intent of the product. When a coin is made it should be viewed as an original piece that has the same characteristics as the rest of the batch. If you mint 100 pieces they should all look entirely the same to have the title Authentic and Original. I think these two words hold the most important aspect of a coin besides the last remaining one…mint (meaning condition).
These three factors are similar to the triangle of fire where you need a fuel source, ignition, and oxygen to have a fire. In order to have a great coin you need Authenticity, Originality, and Great Condition. Obviously there will be more factors then this, but without even one of those factors being present you won’t have a coin worth anything. So this should be a fine basis to start out with to understand the worth or character of a coin. So let’s break these thoughts down even further.
The Challenge Coin Minting Equation
A lot of factors play a vital role in getting a batch of custom coins minted for your unit, work center, or agency. We want to break down barriers when we choose mints. People don’t know the underlying factors and what are really behind them. People get wrapped up in thinking it’s one way when it’s really something different.
Lowest Price – Usually when people are shopping for a coin and especially in an economy like we are currently in people are looking for the best price possible. When you save a buck you could be holding quality back. In challenge coins the price never dictates quality. This is an old wise tale for the most part. It is extremely difficult to base an end result entirely on a price index. Just because you get a great deal or you pay through the nose does not mean you are going to get different results. The results come from the factory used in making coins.
Company Portfolio – A company’s reputation is hugely dependent on previous coins made. When you need examples of coins made you should look at any and all examples of coins that company has produced. The more coins that factory has made is a direct correlation in how good that company is. If they have a small portfolio then one of two things happened. The first is they are new and the second being maybe they weren’t good enough to get many orders.
