How to Make a Coin: Leave It To The Professionals

Company Blog - Lone Star Challenge Coins

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If you’re looking into how to make your own coins at home, chances are you have an event coming up. Maybe you need specific challenge coins, custom engravings, or other personalized features. The coin-making process is highly complex and requires lots of skill and technique. 

At Lone Star Challenge Coins, we simplify the process. All you have to do is create a coin design, and let us do the hard work!

Coin-Making 101: An Overview

Searching “how to make a coin” can turn up very confusing and complicated results. That’s because coin-making is a highly technical process. Whether you want to make your own silver coin or create a custom challenge coin, it will take lots of time and skill. 

Coin-making requires an initial design (what you want your coin to look like), a mold or 3D-printed model, and casting equipment. These steps can help you design own coins that are one-of-a-kind, but they are also expensive and time-consuming. 

The process gets even more challenging if you don’t have computer software that allows you to render your custom design. You can learn how to make a coin through complex steps and technical protocols, but it will cost you time and money. Plus, there is no guarantee that it will turn out how you intended.

How Is a Coin Made?

How do you make coins? There are several steps to making custom coins at home. It’s not as simple as inputting your custom design and letting an inexpensive machine do the work. However, the process becomes much easier when you order from Lone Star Challenge Coins. Here’s how to make a coin at home without any professional help.

Design Considerations

You might think you know what you want from a coin, but you need lots of artistic skill and insight to make a visually appealing design. Did you know that there are eight unique parts to every coin? That means you need to design everything down to the millimeter to get your desired aesthetic. 

From designs on both sides (heads and tails) to rims, edges, and inscriptions, you have much to take on when you learn how to make a coin at home. Designing the coin is just the beginning of the work you’ll need to do. 

Materials and Tools

You’ll need lots of specialized materials if you decide to learn how to make your own coins. Alloys and metals, particularly brass, are essential for getting the aesthetic you want from challenge coins. 

You’ll probably have a tough time getting raw materials. You’ll also need drills, shapers, screws, and other tools to get the coin-making process just right. These are often only sold to manufacturers, not individuals. These tools are expensive, and the total costs can rack up quickly. 

Challenges of Making Your Own Coins

There’s a reason DIY coin-making isn’t super common. Here are some of the biggest challenges and complexities of making your own coins at home. 

Intricate Process

The overall process of designing, molding, casting, or finishing a coin is complex. Each of these steps has intricacies that only a professional can navigate successfully. You’ll need a lot of background knowledge and research to get the types of homemade coins you want. There’s also a lot of room for error during the complex coin-making process. 

The tools and industrial-style materials you need to make coins are also a hassle. You may be unable to access the materials and tools required for coin-making. The process is far too complex to perfect independently, even if you have the suitable materials. If you’re looking for an easy side project or a quick DIY endeavor, coin-making doesn’t fit the bill. 

Time-Consuming

Making just one coin can take hours or days, especially when you factor in the design process. Add a few days to this if you don’t have online software to speed things up. Once you’ve perfected your initial design, you’ll likely need to make changes and prepare your tools and materials. If you’re wondering, “How long will it take to make my own coin?” the answer is a long time. 

Technical Components

To make your coins, you must know the anatomy of a coin, the materials needed to shape and cast it, and other technical factors. Most laypeople don’t have the advanced technical knowledge and skills to make aesthetically pleasing, sturdy coins at home. That’s why it’s best left to professionals like us who can bring your coin dreams to life!

Benefits of Choosing Lone Star Challenge Coins for Coin Creation

At Lone Star Challenge Coins, we have what it takes to make the perfect coins for your needs. Here’s why you should choose us for custom coin creation.

Access to High-Quality Artwork

We can assist you in the design process. If you aren’t sure where to start, we have an extensive library of high-quality artwork available for inspiration. We can kick off your coin-making with existing ideas and add unique touches as we go along.

Free Priority Shipping

We understand you need your coins soon. Instead of spending weeks at home making your pieces, let our free priority shipping get your coins there faster. You can use them as soon as you get them!

Unlimited Revisions and Proofs

Your coins are designed just for you. You get unlimited free revisions when you order from us. We can make any necessary changes to ensure the final product is excellent for your purposes.

Easy 1-2-3 Design Process

Don’t worry about the technical jargon and extensive design processes involved in DIY coin-making. Let us guide you through our easy three-step design process to take the stress and hassle off of you. With Lone Star Challenge Coins, it’s as easy as 1-2-3!

Supporting an American Business and Proud Veterans

We believe in the beauty and strength of the United States. Our company is owned and operated by proud veterans who served our country and are dedicated to excellence. When you order from us, you’re supporting veterans everywhere.

Make Coin Creation Easy With Lone Star Challenge Coins

Need high-quality custom challenge coins? We make the process easy and stress-free, ensuring you get the finished product you’re after. No more haggling for at-home materials and complex tools — we have you covered! Order from Lone Star Challenge Coins today.

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About Lone Star
Challenge Coins

We continually strive each day to make Lone Star Pins and Challenge coins the industry leader for all your promotional item needs. We do this by creating a customer centric environment. By putting our customers’ needs first, providing them with the industry’s best artwork, customer service and products, and by exceeding all expectations, we hope to create the ultimate customer experience.

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SEE WHAT OUR
CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING

J and jarren
J and jarren
10 November 2023
My class spent well over $9,000 on our class coins. First issue, they didn't get them to us in a timely manner. We received them barely in time for graduation. Second, they sent us coins with a misspelled word (brave) as seen in the picture. Third issue, a lot of the spinners came broken, also as seen in the picture. When I reached out to the company, they claim sending replacement coins out at a later date is rectifying of this situation. Very empathetic to the situation at hand overall. Not very professional at all, terrible business practices and they definitely will not receive future business from me nor any recommendations either. Zero stars
M. Wong
M. Wong
27 October 2023
I found this company last year after a recommendation from a friend and I've ordered several times now. What keeps me coming back is the high level of customer service and responsiveness in the projects that have been created. The work product is also great and the quality of the coins, detail and just overall, I am very pleased with. This is my GO TO shop now for coins. Please check them out, you will not be disappointed! PS. Big shout to Corbin for his amazing guest service!
Stephen Ryan
Stephen Ryan
25 October 2023
This company is fantastic! I reached out to them to create a custom shaped coin with custom artwork that they had put together for me. The coins are a Veteran's Day thank you token for those who served at our company. We will definitely be returning for future orders. From start to finish, they were very open with communication, extremely fast to respond to concerns and questions, and lastly delivered something that blew us out of the water. Thank you so much!
Alejandra O'Connor
Alejandra O'Connor
25 October 2023
I ordered challenge coins on behalf of my government agency. Lone Star was easy to work with and did amazing things with the graphics I sent. They turned the artwork around quickly and each time it was better than what we had hoped for. We did have several back and forth messages to get the coin exactly as we wanted it. Our representative was so patient with us and had excellent customer service. We also got the coins in the mail quickly. Working with Lone Star was a wonderful experience end-to-end.
Italy Mair
Italy Mair
18 October 2023
Great service, great communication, and great products! Would definitely recommend them.
Rafael Moronta
Rafael Moronta
13 October 2023
Amazing artwork.. aside from the product what I loved most of our experience was the flexibility to create a coin that’s exceeds your own expectations. Thank you guys so much for making the process seamless and affordable!
Tyler
Tyler
5 October 2023
Absolutely fantastic company to work with. Communication was always quick, and the final product looked even better than the proof did. 10/10 would recommend!
ALISON BOLAND
ALISON BOLAND
26 September 2023
I engaged with Lone star challenge coins to make coins for my fiancé's celebration of life. I was pretty clueless about design, and they provided the perfect design. The coins arrived in time, and we were more than satisfied with the outcome. Their customer service was excellent as well. They guided me (held my hand) throughout the process, and were quick to respond. I cannot say enough about their product and company.
Debbie Avinger
Debbie Avinger
26 September 2023
We are so grateful for the work Lone Star Challenge Coins did for our nonprofit fundraising event! They worked with our budget and gave us medals with ribbons and challenge coins that were better than we expected.
Dan Kiser
Dan Kiser
22 September 2023
Corbin was very combative when I explained that the design provided was not at all reflective of the requests that I provided on the Inquiry form. Based on the customer service alone during that 1 phone call, I am not inclined to pursue any business with this company. EDIT: I spoke to the owner, Mike, and he helped rectify the situation and framed it as a learning opportunity for his team. This is a good reminder that people make mistakes but first impressions matter.
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