Challenge Coins Start With Art

Without question the most successful coin projects must and have always been about the artwork created. Challenge Coins Start With Art and nothing has changed for the decades challenge coins have been manufactured. Challenge Coins Start With Art is what separates a good coin from a great challenge coin and nothing will change that.

So how do you arrive at a coin design that is both cool as hell but always is decidedly the best way to display critical information about the military command, warship, submarine, squadron of military unit? Its called collaboration and that means rolling up the sleeves and getting all the ideas down on paper first. Once you have all the ideas to produce your challenge coin you set out to find design elements that represent what you envision for your coin.

Art Lesson 1 – Don’t Copy Someone Else’s Art.

When you are looking around the internet its cool to find exciting designs that you would like to reference for your challenge coin but make sure that your coin guys know the art is not yours. Referencing something is fine but what is the most important thing to know is that you need to have the artwork be designed and that means producing it from scratch. Challenge coins need originality and if your challenge coin company doesn’t have an in-house art department then they will likely copy anything you throw at them and that means you are asking for headache and possible legal issues associated with copyrights. Its better to let them know that you love these references you are sending them but that its only sent to reference the style, looks and maybe illustrate how you like the piece to look overall.

Copyright Law Is Alive And Well. Good Clean Honesty and Originality Leads to A Successful Challenge Coin

Best to be cautious. Bets to contact the artist or owner of the design, the copyright owner, and ask for written permission to use their art. If they so no then no it is and if its no that doesn’t mean go around their back and do it anyway. Karma has a way of catching up with you and an intellectual copyright theft isn’t worth it and it can be very expensive when attorneys get involved. Basic art rules for the common sense oriented crowd:

1. If the art is copied in part of whole your breaking the law. As many folks who do not deal with artwork and original design on a daily basis they often think “well if I change it 35.9% I should be good?” Right? No actually that is wrong. If you can place them side by side and their are even similarities, you have crossed over the copyright.
2. If you find it on the internet it must be ok to use? No again. If someone created the artwork they have established a copyright. Just because you might find it on Google or other search related engine doesn’t mean its in the public domain to be used. Challenge coin artwork is all over the internet but that doesn’t give the right so someone to use without permission.
3. If I have a challenge coin produce the art I am good right? Yes and no. If the challenge coin you work with produces the artwork from scratch and every element is original then you are good to go. If any part of the original artwork is borrowed, copied or used you have copyright issues and to make matters worse the challenge coin company you asked to make the art is going to get hit with copyright infractions which means they aren’t going to be too terribly happy with you. Sure its their responsibility to ask you if the art is yours and you had better be honest or the consequences of your actions will not be pleasant.
4. I am in the US military and I can create anything I want? Not exactly. You still have to get the permission of the artist or copyright owner and just because the design may contain text on the challenge coin such as US Marines, United States Navy, US Army or similar that doesn’t mean you have permission to use the original art. That still belongs to someone and they labored to create it. It belongs to them. Copyright law does extend to the Uniform Code Of Military Justice and attorneys such as Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) is one example of those who would investigate a copyright infringement made and that packs serious issues and consequences both within the military and also outside the military with the possibly of a civil legal issue. Trust us it’s not worth it.
5. Look it up if you don’t believe us. Copyright Law Of The United States. Educate yourself because in the growing world of information it is is easy to think things are in the common domain simply because they are easily seen or copied off the internet. True but that doesn’t make it legal.

Art Lesson 2 – Originality

Without exception that most critical part of a great challenge coin design is fostered on the premise of originality. Nothing separates something more from the mundane or boring than original artwork. Challenge coins are no different. The basic two dimensional coins most challenge coin companies will price quote over the internet are often packed with wonderful pictures of coins they designed or had made. Sadly most of them were not designed by a trained in-house staff of artist and relied on an overseas factory to do the work for them and ultimately for you. It it works then it works but then so does mediocrity.

You joined the US military, law enforcement or a fire department for a reason. Unlikely when you took the oath of enlistment did it every cross your mind that you would be designing a challenge coin at some time in the future. We understand and we get it. Unfortunately there is a lot of distractions, a lot of noise and very little signal when it comes to finding the artists to get the job done and getting your custom challenge coin project over the finish line. Very few artists have a dedication to supporting the men and women of the United States military and even fewer are experienced artist with a sound understanding of design and the art needed to make a custom challenge coin exceptional.

So ask for help and work with a team of military artists that you are comfortable with and get the right “coin guys” designing that special custom challenge coin that will make heads turn. So how does challenge coin artwork get us there?

1. When engaging with a coin artist have a few ideas ready.

Challenge Coin Shape – An important piece of information. What does the overall shape look like? Does the shape of the coin follow the artwork or do you need a set back and a border? Does the challenge coin need to a circular coin to fit nicely on a challenge coin rack or display? Will it need to stand up with a flat or straight bottom so it can stand up or would you like the coin to have some incredibly detailed and special shape with no uniformity at all? It can all be done. The coin shape also matters because how much space exists between the shape of the coin and the artwork is an important part of the overall design.

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Challenge Coin Art – Make a list of all the things that are important to you. Keep in mind things like vehicles, ships, submarines, anchors, aircraft, tools and anything that is essential to your command or military unit that is central to the artwork. A list with links makes a huge difference. In the world of naval aviation for example knowing not just the aircraft but if its a A, B, C or something else is important. Accuracy is always important because it will make selling the coins and having a far more successful fundraiser even better. Your burger burn is better with an awesome challenge coin than a basic design that has no military accuracy.

Challenge Coin Serialization – Yes or no? Would you like a finite number of coins made and then encase them in glass upon completion so they are offered to only a limited group and then never again? Sometimes the limited edition coins are among the best for once simple reason – you can’t them again once they are gone. Putting a serialization number of your coins marks them as limited.

Challenge Coin Colors – Would you like your custom challenge coin to be metal stamped and seen with no color like a US quarter for example. Metal stamped coins are some of the most handsome coins produced and offer a great deal of detail when done properly. Colored coins whether on one side or both add additional interest to your custom challenge coins and can attract a lot of interest as well. How many colors do you want? What colors are they? Is it important for certain part of the coin to be displayed with color while leaving other design elements alone to be seen in the original color of the metal coin? Important considerations.

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Size – How big is your challenge coin going to be? Most common size by far is a two inch diameter coin but larger 3 and 3.5 inch challenge coins are created daily as well. It is all based on personal choice. The more real estate you have to work with the more details can be added to your coin.

Metals – Brass. Zinc. Oh My. Yes the type of metal displayed on your coin is important. If you want a gold coin, a silver coin in either a glossy finish or an antique one the type of metal is important. If you simply don’t know that is no problem. Work with your artist and the design plus their experience in crafting coins can play a big part here. Take some guidance from seasoned professionals.

Custom challenge coins are as unique as the men and women that request them but they are an important part of the military experience. Challenge coins are about respect. They identify, preserve and honor the traditions of the US military spanning decades. They also identify accomplishment when a commander presses a challenge coin into the hand of one of their enlisted. Everything from the very beginning of the custom challenge coin process is about respect and originality. To lessen it in any way, by not following the rules of copyrights and developing a unique experience is not what challenge coins are about. Be the Soldier, US Marine or US Navy Sailor that brings excellence to a custom challenge coin that is associated with your command.

Let’s get started designing an original custom challenge coin for you. Have a Vision Strike Wear artist assigned to the incredibly designed coins you want made and make challenge coins you will be proud to be associated with for years to come.

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