Medals UK Ltd has produced hundreds of bespoke medals and custom coins for a huge variety of clients nationwide, with many years of experience in guiding customers through the process from design conception to finished product. Often clients come to us with a pre-existing logo they would like featured on a product, or a design idea in their head or notebook, but wouldn’t know what comes next or where to start. We’ve created this ‘How to create a coin or a medal’ guide to help shed a little light on the process looking at how we work together with our customers to create a quality bespoke medal or custom coin.

FIRST THINGS TO CONSIDER

1) Product type

There are many things to consider before the design process can even start, but the main question is what product type is best suited? We can produce a range of products including bespoke medals, custom coins and lapel pins. When consulting with a customer we always ask, “what is your end product required for?” The answer will almost always influence the product type, for example:

Medals – Sporting events such as tournaments, races or championships traditionally opt for medals with optional ribbons that can be presented to teams and worn around the neck for photo opportunities and then kept as a memento in presentation case or capsules.

Coins – Commemorative events often choose custom coins which have a more corporate feel or carry a sense of of nostalgia and can be presented and preserved in presentation cases.

Lapel Pins – Lapel pins are versatile and can be worn every-day or on special occasions and are often selected by organisations as markers of membership or achievement.

All these products can be presented in different ways. Medals UK Ltd provide ribbons, lanyards, presentation cases and capsules that can enhance and protect your product. If you do choose to have one of these, you’ll also want to consider whether they are printed on and what is printed on them.

2) How many?

Once you’ve pinned down your product type, we will need to know numbers. How many medals/coins or lapel pins will you want produced? Regardless of whether you need a single product or 5,000, we can help. However it is good to bear in mind that there are some standard tooling costs regardless of quantities and in most cases it always pays to order a few more than you think you need.

3) When do you need them by?

When designing a medal, coin or lapel pin it is always best to think ahead to when you will need your final product to arrive. As you will see in this guide there are a few steps we have to go through before getting the finished product into your hands and having a realistic timeframe to do that in ensures quality and accuracy. 

Our standard lead time is around 6 weeks, however that may depend upon what you might require or if you have a specific delivery date in mind. Discussing a project via a quick telephone call on 01785 665050 is always the best option when timescales are tight, as there may be other options to consider. 

DESIGN CHOICES

There can be a multitude of things to consider when discussing the design of your product, it can be daunting, but don’t worry we are always there to guide you and give you recommendations every step of the way.

1) Imagery and Wording

Think about what you will want presented on the medal/coin/lapel pin. If it is for an event do you need the event name and date on there? Do you want your logo or emblem to feature? You may have an existing design that you want to use, if so great we can work with that. If not, we have designers that can help with the process, taking your ideas and translating them to fit in the most attractive and practical way for your product.

2) Obverse and Reverse

People often forget that with a bespoke medal or custom coin you can feature design on both sides. The obverse is the side that bears the principle design and the reverse could hold further information such as an event name, date or placing.  Of course, if you would just like your design on the obverse of the product that’s fine too.

3) Size

The size of the product you choose really is up to your taste, but remember that if you would like to have detailed logo or slightly more wording on your product this might not suit a smaller surface area. We are always happy to advise in this area and will often point you towards our product page to show you examples of different sizes.

4) Colour

Traditionally medals and coins are manufactured in bronze, silver and gold. Each colour dictating the level of achievement or worth.  When designing your product remember to consider whether or not you will need it produced in only one colour or several for example competitive events often have the same design of medal produced in Gold, Sliver and Bronze to denote 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd places.  

Available in Bespoke Sizes

Obverse and Reverse options available

5) Finish

The finish is an effect that is applied to the metal of the medal, coin or pin to change it’s tactile quality. Here at Medals UK Ltd we think that a finish is the perfect way to do just that, finish off the look of a product. There are several finishes you can choose from and some you can even combine…

6) Design Sign Off and Manufacturing

Once we have talked through all the above, we’ll present our customers with a vector design to sign off – the customer will always give us the go ahead. Then we get physical – the product will be sent to our manufacture where it will go through tooling and striking processes. The customer is kept up to date with progress and will be notified when their finished products are ready and on their way.