A Day in the Spotlight
Quite often, our blogs are created either around a single design element that multiple coins share, or they’re about one customer who’s created a unique and interesting challenge coin program. But every so often, we get an order in that’s so impressive we think it would be a mistake not to share it with you.
Maybe they aren’t pushing the boundaries of what’s typical in the custom coin design world, but they do showcase what is possible when the different options we offer are utilized to their best effect. These coins are our Signature Spotlights.
Small Space, Large Detail
With challenge coins, size matters. We tell our customers that coins 1.5” or smaller are usually more trouble than they’re worth. It was a U.S. Marine Corps customer who was responsible for the creation of one of the largest coins we’ve created, so it seems fitting that the Marines would also request one of the smaller coins too.
At 1.5”, this isn’t the smallest coin we’ve ever created, but the thing about this small coin is the shape. Challenge coins are sized based on a square grid. This means that coins of different shapes have a different amount of surface area to work with. A 1.5” square-shaped coin will have more surface area than a 1.5” round coin. And a coin that’s oval, like this one, will have even less surface area to work with.
In most cases, more surface area is better. Customers often come to us with elaborate designs asking that they be put on coins too small to do the artwork justice in an effort to capitalize on the fact that smaller coins cost less. But when the design of your coin is simple and understated, it’s possible to get a smaller coin that’s just as impressive as our larger coins.
This USMC coin makes use of very little text to convey its purpose. The rest of the design is taken up by embellishment and an impressively detailed laurel wreath framing the entire front coin face. But of particular interest is the small USMC emblem on the front of the coin.
While most coins this small can’t really capture that kind of small detail, when the design is simple and straightforward enough, scaling it down and still keeping enough detail that it’s clear and obvious what the design is intended to be is easy. In this instance, the emblem on the front is recreated on the back in a larger size, but you’d be hard pressed to tell much of a difference between them. The back even makes room for sequential number engraving, making each of the finished coins completely unique.
Put Your Custom Coin in the Spotlight
Undersized challenge coins aren’t for everyone. In fact, they aren’t even suitable for most of the custom designs and artwork we get in, but one thing that this coin from the Marines proves is that if you do want a smaller sized coin, there’s a way to design and craft it so that it’s still worthy of inclusion in our Signature Spotlight series.
If you think your custom coin is deserving of a spot in the Signature Spotlights series, let us know in the comments, or shoot us an email. And be sure to continue creating interesting and unique designs that catch our eye.
