If you've ever been put in charge of ordering coins for your department, an academy class or a retirement, you know the drill: six-week lead times, overseas factories, and a design process that takes longer than the event planning. Here's what to know before you order. It's written by a police officer who's been on both sides of the coin.
Struck coins vs. full-color printed coins
Die-struck coins are the traditional kind: a metal blank stamped with a mold, then filled with enamel. They're beautiful and heavy, but every design needs a custom mold, so they're usually made overseas, in large minimums, over several weeks.
Full-color printed coins skip the mold. Your design is printed directly onto the coin in full color, front and back, so gradients, photos and detailed patches come out true to your proof. They're the right choice when you want exact full color, detailed patches, and a fast turnaround for your whole department.
How many coins do you actually need?
- Department coins: every sworn and civilian member, plus extras for new hires, visiting agencies and trades. This is where bulk pricing saves the most.
- Academy class: one per graduate plus instructors, staff and family.
- Unit or shift coins: current members plus extras for future members and trades.
- Retirements and memorials: the honoree, their family, the honor guard and everyone at the ceremony.
Tip: order extras. Coins get traded, gifted and requested for years after the event, and reordering a small batch later costs more per coin than adding them to your first order.
Design tips that work
- Start with your patch or badge. It's instantly recognizable.
- Put the event and date on the back, like "Retired 2026" or "Class 26-1".
- Keep text large. Coins are small, and tiny text gets lost.
- Ask for a digital proof before anything is made.
Don't forget the display
A personalized challenge coin display makes a retirement gift complete: the coins they collected over a career, with their name and rank on the rack. See our challenge coin displays.
Ready to plan yours?
We're a first-responder family in North Carolina. Request a challenge coin quote and we'll walk you through it.