Soft Enamel Coins VS Hard Enamel Coins

Soft enamel coin is not “soft” when touching.

The “soft enamel”, an industry term, is the meaning of the color fill process used to create the challenge coin. Recessed areas will be filled with liquid enamel by using a tiny needle, and are surrounded by raised metal as a line to contain the enamel well. After baked and polished, the challenge coin can be ready for package and delivery. If you rub your fingers over your custom soft enamel coin you will have a layered feeling.

And for hard enamel, this craft is a multi-step enamel process, which is often used to produce jewelry, vases, and high-end decorative handicrafts. It is also called cloisonné. This type of challenge coin has its flash-point, smooth surface, and colorful images that are the same level as the based metal, with a glossy finish.

The process of hard enamel is always made from great material and costs a little more. The enamel color will be added several times to match the higher raised metal line, and then it is heated at a very high temperature to harden and polished in detail.

The different process makes different features for your custom coins. You can know it well from the below pictures and lists.

Custom Soft Enamel Coins

• Color filled with liquid pigment
• Created with raised and recessed areas when touching
• 3D image can be engraved on its surface
• A wide selection of shapes and sizes for soft enamel coin
• Optional epoxy coating can be added if wanted
• Popular and cost-effective style
• Good for corporate challenge coins, honor coins, etc.

Soft enamel coin is the most popular option for customers and is provided at a cost-effective price. The color fill is liquid pigment, and the color areas are lower than metal parts; so the soft enamel coin looks more layered. With raised metal and recessed color areas, enamel-colored parts are more attractive and vivid under the light.

Custom Hard Enamel Coins

• Color filled by solid pigment
• multi-step enamel process to make enamel parts as higher as raised metal
• The intense polishing process make hard enamel coin more bright and harden with a smooth finish
• Highest-quality, most durable
• Expensive price
• Good for Military coins, Navy and Air Force challenge coins, etc.

Hard enamel coin is a high-quality challenge coin, and its color is filled with solid pigment. The color and metal area are flushed with a smooth surface with intense polish. Hard enamel coin is a durable challenge coin; colors are vibrant for years to come. If you want to collect valuable challenge coins, a hard enamel coin is a great choice.

What’s more, custom coins are crafted with hard enamel and often be presented themselves well and of higher quality because of their luxurious appearance.

Soft Enamel Coin or Hard Enamel Coin: Which is Better?

Someone had custom coins minted in soft enamel because he liked the realistic feeling. While, others prefer to choose hard enamel coins, which feature a smooth surface.

Whether to choose soft enamel or hard enamel manufacturing methods ultimately depends on your preference and budget. We can create your challenge coin using either process perfectly.

As a leading challenge coin maker, we employ quality control inspections to ensure all custom coins meet the customer’s requirements. We even take your personalized design ideas and turn them into real great pieces through our finest craftsmanship.

If you are still not sure which challenge coin process to choose from, please directly contact us at 1-888-864-4755, our talented sales will help you and give you’re the best advice under your budget.

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We all know colorful items are always fresh and attract our attention, at first sight, the same as challenge coins with enamel options.

Besides die-struck challenge coins without any color, soft enamel and hard enamel coins with painted colors are popular for challenge coin design and customization.

Do you know some special shiny enamel options for custom coins? As a professional challenge coin maker, GS-JJ mainly offers metallic enamel, glitter, and glow options on coins design. All of them can make your piece unique in art!

Metallic Enamel

When we want to make enameled challenge coins, the metallic enamel option is still a great way to upgrade the appearance of coins. It will make them look delicate and shiny under the light.

The metallic enamel option mainly includes metallic gold and metallic silver, and the effect of metallic enamel is also called sandblasting. It is applied to custom coins after being plated and makes the coin’s surface seems like a matte effect, special and shiny. This option is popular and with low cost for any crafts.

Glitter enamel

The glitter makes a bright, sparkling light. When we want to give something a glittering appearance, then glitter powder may be our first choice to enamel the object.

Glitter is so dazzling and widely used in many cosmetic fields. Whether you use glitter on Ombre nails, to accent something on your clothes, or to make a pin look a little nicer, it’s a timeless look that most people love. The bling-bling nail polish process makes it a good choice if you’re trying to make something stick out and with the proper color, it can accent anything you’re wearing.

Various colors of glitter powder are available for custom coins, such as pink, blue, red, and more. The glitter enamel could give those coins a more unique and flashy look than the rest with not, with a beautiful sparkle enamel image and background to catch our eyes.

Putting glitter powder on challenge coins is an affordable and shiny way if you have a limited budget. For more information about glitter powder, CLICK HERE.

Glow enamel

Anything that can glow in the dark is so interesting and collectible.

More often, we would like to create lapel pins that glow in the dark, they have amazing effects and views under the light. Glow enamel options are available for wonderful items or any other collection, you can know it from the above picture. For more details about glowing lapel pins, CLICK HERE.

Challenge coins with glow enamel will be shiny in the dark, you can make a symbol or icon glow on both sides. This challenge coin with a glow option is indeed a unique addition to any collector.

By the way, Green light is the common glow option for us. And the glow enamel option may have a higher cost than other options, and the effect of glowing is long-lasting.

These three enamel options are popular crafts to customize challenge coins. Each option can help make our coins more unique and outstanding, choose the style you like.

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Actually, there are several perfect “set meals” for custom coins cheap and popular among customers. The following are five combinations with custom coins for your reference.

1. Challenge Coin + Belt Buckle

It’s a funny and cool idea to make Belt buckle as a gift for yourself or friends as the above picture. More people would like to call this design a geocoin belt buckle style. This is an awesome belt buckle that is highly attached with different challenge coins on the surface, so impressive and outstanding.

If you just like simple style custom belt buckles, you can choose a challenge coin and belt buckle mode.

Anyway, it’s a fantastic idea to design custom belt buckles with screw fasteners to hold our favorite challenge coin. Inserted or raised 3D challenge coins are available as we want.

Soft enamel coins, die struck, or sandblasting custom coins cheap are all can be created on belt buckles as gifts to giveaway.

  2. Challenge Coin + Dog Tag

For military personnel, a dog tag is their identification tags with an informal name or symbol. It is an honor and special token for the receiver.

If you want a dog tag to reflect and show your affection and respect for the Military, you can choose a Military logo or icon on the surface. If one logo is not enough, then put more symbols as challenge coins design you like.

All in all, most of the metal gifts with 2D or 3D design and crafts can be applied to your challenge coin dog tag.

 3. Challenge Coin + Keychains

Turn your challenge coin into a keychain?! It’s a really cool gift idea.

Custom keychains are tiny pieces for us to hold various keys in daily life. If you are a senior challenge coins collector, challenge coin combines with keychain design is surely a wonderful and functional item you want to treasure.

The keychain could bring and display your favorite custom coins cheap anywhere and anytime.

Military logo, another unique or personalized icon as coin holder part, you can design your metal gifts with your own style. Even some guys are ready to buy this handy key holder for challenge coin online.

There is a screw attachment on top of the keyring, so we can install or remove custom coins cheap easily any time we need. Try yours now.

 4. Challenge Coin + Bookmark

A personalized metal bookmark is always a perfect collectible for any reader. Especially a challenge coin bookmark is a special and a great accessory to mark any page!

A coin and bookmark are sure to show us unique designs and get a lot of attention. It is a delicate item any collector dreamed for a long time.

5. Challenge Coin + Bottle Opener

Challenge coin bottle opener is a common design among various challenge coins design. Custom coins cheap of all types can be switched to functional pieces—challenge coins bottler opener. With bottle opener cut-out, the challenge coin is multiple function gifts and honor for others.

There are so many popular challenge coin bottle opener designs for us to choose from. All these custom coins cheap are useful items and gifts for your family, best friends, or team.

Are you learning more designs for custom coins cheap now? Just be curious and fill your mind with various ideas, you will find more creative custom coins cheap design as your metal gifts, and professional promotional gifts manufacturer can help you make it finally.

They are great pieces to express your appreciation or ideas, or favorite sayings, or cute little things, or just demonstrate strange design features. Start to create yours here.

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Even we are the common person, a piece of challenge coin means a lot for us too. If you have a special affection for the military, military challenge coins are the honor and pride we have always dreamed of.

Maybe we have no opportunity to be awarded military coins by the commander, but we could collect or customize military rank coins sincerely. Finally, we can say, at least we have it.

Below are popular styles for military rank challenge coins. Find details here, maybe you can learn ideas and design to customize ideal rank challenge coins.

US Amy Rank Challenge Coins

The above two coins are 1.75” Soft enamel army challenge coin with rope edges, polished with antique brass finish. A great addition to any collection.

Soft enamel is the most popular style for military rank coins. And proper size is easy for receivers to hold and show off. The official U.S. Army seal and different rank insignia are basic images and elements for custom military coins design.

All custom coins cheap with rank insignia are minted in a brass alloy, accented with bright enamel accents. These coins are to salutes the talented and dedicated members who have raised specific rank in the U.S. Army.

US Air Force Rank Challenge Coins

Confirm your USAF identity with this lucky challenge coin.

The blue theme is choice for air force challenge coins forever. And silver and nickel finishes are often used to match the air force blue enamel color on Air Force rank coins. This metal finish helps a lot to displays the rank insignia and the Air Force logo well.

Appreciate this delicate Air Force master sergeant Challenge coin.

It’s perfect for an honorable gift to giveaway because these members deserve this recognition for all they have done.

Crafted by soft enamel, this rank coin is well engraved and painted with rank insignia on the coin’s surface. Spur edge option on both sides is especially to make outstanding and attractive looking.

US Navy Rank Challenge Coins

The rank Navy challenge coins honor all those who have gained to the rank of E-3 and Chief Warrant Officer 4 for their great skill and leadership capabilities.

All military coins with rank insignia are highly valued memorial gifts and souvenirs for Military crew.

All in all, custom coins with rank insignia can be kept as souvenirs to commemorate a special mission or event. For soldiers, sergeant and officers, they would like to display them at every opportunity, and as keepsake and honor, they will cherish for life.

There are so many options in shape, size, color, or finish we can choose, talented designers will help us to design coins we have dreamed for a long time. Hope everyone could design and collect favorite rank coins they dreamed.

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Shiny finish, antique finish and matte finish are common finishes we choose on our challenge coins design.

If you are new to coin collecting and maybe wonder what the finish terms mean. Find it here, this article will show more details about these finish options.

Shiny Finish

Wow, so shiny a challenge coin it is! If a challenge coin gives you this feeling, then the coin is probably polished with a shiny finish.

Shiny finish options are frequently used for most of the challenge coins, including gold, silver, nickel, copper, brass finish.

Among these shiny finishes, gold finish and silver finish are the top two choices if we need our coins as shiny like the diamond. This kind of finish can attract people’s attention at first sight. They are also the classical option and common choice for us to pick.

All custom coins cheap with a shiny finish look more shiny and impressive; they are a better choice to give as honor and gift to the recipients

Antique Finish

Antique coins are valuable items for professional collectors and the public. These coins are often featuring a historic event or special meaning, and old remark by the passing of time. The old antique charming is precious for any coins, even includes collectibles–challenge coins.

Note: challenge coin with an antique silver finish to commemorate those fallen miners in that accident

If you prefer antique charming and need commemorative style for your occasion and event, you had better choose antique finishes.

Antique gold, antique silver, antique brass, antique copper are great coin charm for any coin design.

Matte Finish

What is a matte coin? Do you know the matte finish? It sounds like a smoggy appearance.

The effect of matte finish likes the surface of ground glass, is so neutral looking, not so bright and old. Matte finish is no glare, not dazzling, and conveys to people with a stable simple but elegant feeling.

There are mainly matte gold, matte silver, matte nickel, matte copper finish for custom coins. And you can still customize other matte finish you like if possible.

The above picture is a view of Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Matte Silver BEAST. It features a noticeable matte finish that mimicked a stealth bomber’s paint process.

The matte finish is not so shiny but still has elegance style, this may be the reason why some people want to design custom challenge coins with a matte finish.

Finally, I have to say, choosing which kind of finish obviously depends on personal preference. All the above finish options have many advantages for your precious challenge coins.

Each finish likes a coating for the coin, it can help us to decorate custom coins more outstanding and unique. Besides, the finishing process on coins could protect them from any rust and oxidation.

Great finish process will keep challenge coins as well as the original looking with years to come. Hope you can choose the favorite and proper finish when designing your own challenge coins.

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Police officials play an essential role in improving the safety of our communities. They help us to maintain the rules, regulations and the holy laws of the country. All policemen are deserved our respect and recognition with perfect awards, for example, Police challenge coins.

Wide Applications

Nowadays, challenge coins are widely used for different organizations, units or private clubs, etc. As delicate items Police challenge coins are a great choice for the Police department to honor their service members with the past and present brilliant achievement. Only within a medium level budget.

Police challenge coins are pride for a police officer and mean a lot when you choose these awesome challenge coins as gifts will be better?

a)If you plan to purchase the ideal gift for an award to Policemen for their bravery and dedication for some important missions and activities;

b)In recognition of their service and contribution about serving our communities at your annual party or ceremony;

c)A special token to express your appreciation, or help you boost morale and unity in your team;

d)When you need commemorative items to remember the fallen policemen.

Why do We like Police Challenge Coins?

We all know those police officers are very brave and selfless, and make huge sacrifices to help our communities on duty. Police challenge coins are remarkable gifts, to thank officers for protecting and serving our safety in a fashion way.

Besides, Police challenge coins are great collectibles for service members and collectors, to remind significant moments in their life. People are proud to show and display after receiving them. All custom challenge coins can be displayed at home as decoration, or office desk to remind precious accomplishment in their on-duty career.

One of the unique things about our police challenge coins is that they are fully handmade to fill with enamel colors, which adds high value to collectible and also makes them meaningful. At GS-JJ, we have many attractive options are available to meet your needs, such as finishes, colors, shapes, or 3D images, etc. You can order your challenge coins which carried with the symbol of the police department and insignia you want. We are the expert to help you make masterpieces!

We can provide Police challenge coins in a variety of styles and designs to meet any requirements; even Police badge 3D shaped challenge coins are possible. Our custom challenge coins are great not only for police officers but also for law enforcement departments and Military units. All of them are really amazing with great quality.

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The Boy Scouts had a big impact on the youth’s life in America. As the largest private youth organizations in the United States, founded in 1910, Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is committed to providing much Learning for Life programs to the kids, youth and even adults, help them prepare for a life well, and earn their deserved custom coins in childhood.

Scouting experience is divided into five programs according to age and activities, including Cub Scouting (Youth grades K–5), Boy Scouting (Youth 11–17 years old), and Venturing (Co-ed 14–20 years old), Sea Scouting (Co-ed 14–20 years old) and Exploring (Co-ed 10–20 years old).

The traditional Scouting programs are preparing kids and youth to make keep them physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight over their lifetimes, by developing their character and skills for life.

Now, it’s a new era for the Boy Scouts of America, it’s not the previous one, and try to reflect that inclusion throughout all of their programs, and the BSA makes a great policy change as the below.

1. Girls Can Join Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting.

These two programs are ready to welcome girls into the program with open arms now. Cub Scouts is full of fun, and now it’s open to all kids. Both Cub Scouting and Boy Scouting programs with the change to accommodate girls and girls even have opportunities to earn the highest rank honor of Eagle Scout.

2. Boy BSA Program.

The program for youth ages 11 to 17 will become to be called “Scouts BSA”, rather than Boy Scouting starting February 2019, which is to be harmony with the admission of this program to girls. That’s a way to welcome girls into the program, and prove that the Boy Scouts of America is moving to a more gender-neutral organization.

Be noticed and do not confused, the organization’s name will continue to be Boy Scouts of America.

3. Scout Me In.

The organization was also announced a new program called “Scout Me In,” an activity that will include both boys and girls to be a part of the life-changing experience of Scouting for the first time. More interesting program to join for girls and boys, this is for you!

The change will be hard sometimes, but without change, we can’t become a better one. We are all excited about the evolution and changes that the Boy Scouts of America, is going through making the programs more open to kids and youth. It is important that all youth can see themselves in scouting in every way possible; anyone can be Scouts to join all the programs and campaigns.

The landmark change will come nearly in the next year. Boys and girls who are members of Scouts BSA will be known as Scouts. Just as before, these Scouts will earn merit badges, Hornaday medal, BSA challenge coins, and even the Eagle Scout Award custom coins.

It’s a wonderful way to encourage and recognize the excellence in units for their high-level performance, especially reward them with custom coins that feature the Boy Scouts of America Stylized Universal Emblem. It’s always a tradition for all the Military, and challenge coin is the number one collectible for US Military units. These Boy Scouts of America challenge coins are great gifts and honor that all Scouts never forget.

At GS-JJ, custom coins can be created in a variety of sizes, shape, and metal plating, feature your logo, name, and suitable for any groups, private organization, etc. Custom coins are among the highest recognition and most collectible items available. Email us at info@gs-jj.com to start the free quote and designing process, or you can call us at 1-888-864-4755.

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As one of the most popular series, all of us are crazy about those characters and plots, but also there are many important lessons to be learned.

1. Knowledge can help you survive. 

A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. We should take lifelong study as a habit in our life. Knowledge is indeed powerful weapon in the world of Game of Thrones, like Tyrion, he can as valuable as the fighters, and the same can be said for us.

Tyrion Lannister is a beloved character; even he is a dwarf, with stubby legs, mismatched eyes of green and black. He is well educated, knowledgeable and intelligent little man. Even though he is no warrior, he tries to use to his advantage and show his bravery in battle.

As Tyrion has stated that what he lacks in size will strength him in mental acuity and other aspects.

2. Someone Who Won’t Listen Can’t Hear.

Lord Tywin Lannister is the head of the Lannister family, and he was characterized by being ruthless, cold, and he refuses to listen to others.

He insisted that Cersei marry “Knight of the Flowers”- Loras Tyrell to stabilize the relationship between the two families, and also want to make Tyrion’s marriage to keep great relations with the North. He is very arrogant, and did so many autocratic things without following other’s advice, and finally he was killed by the last person he thought.

As the Chinese Confucian saying, two heads are always better than one. If you go on your own way all the time, the whole world will be against with you.

3. Never forgot what you promised.

We all know that marriage is one of the most serious things in the Middle Ages. The breaking of the marriage pact was merely a reason for the massacre.

The Red Wedding is that kind massacre during the War of the Five Kings arranged by Lord Walder Frey as revenge against King Robb Stark for breaking the marriage between House Stark and House Frey. It’s always been a great event to remember, or to be in shock.

In the series, Robb Stark was breaking his promise to wed Walder Frey’s daughter. While the old, creepy man acted like he didn’t care, that broken promise cost Robb’s life and many others.

It’s important to remember that yes, some promises can be broken but other times, you can’t undo the after effects of the more important broken promises.

A promise you don’t keep can catch up to you later in the game

4. As a man sows, so he shall reap. 

Don’t be bad people in your Life, you should believe in karma.

We all make many choices in our lives. Most of the time, those choices are good and we end up with decent lives. However, for bad decisions, we will live with a little less-than-joyous. Let’s take Cersei Lannister, for example.

There’s no doubt she’s one of the most evil character in the entire Game of Thrones series and she gets her own way. At last, everything she’s done has come back to bite her right in the ass. She’s lost her children, her father, and now her brother is even plotting to take the Iron Throne right from under her.

5. Valar Morghulis.

“All men must die.” Our favorite character will find their death at some cruel fate, sometimes.

This is consistent with the meaning given in the Game of Throne. We have better treasure everyday in life.

Peter Baelish, also known as Little finger, may be a notorious and somewhat seedy character, but he said something really stuck with us.

“Everybody dies sooner or later. And don’t worry about your death. Worry about your life. Take charge of your life for as long as it lasts.”

Every day, we are confronted with decisions and setbacks in life, but we shouldn’t spend all of our time worrying about the future. Life is short; we have many things on our to-do list, we should live better and enjoyable. Game of Thrones is full of moral lessons and we can learn helpful tips to make a wonderful life.

The finally, winter is coming.

As a professional manufacturer of promotional gifts, GS-JJ has manufactured Lapel Pins, Customized Medals, Challenge Coins, and Custom Patches for over 20 years. We provide Automated Quotation System online that easy to select cheap challenge coins for Designer and end users. Cheapest price guarantee.

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Look at the above picture; can you know the difference clearly?

Two-dimensional (2D) typically presents a nearly flat surface and three-dimensional (3D) art occupies space volumetrically, you can know.

In the photo above, all text and image on the right coin is on the same plane, and the eagle and anchor on left coin has raised metal obviously, which is based on a 3D mold.

The below opinions are the mainly difference between challenge coins of 2D and 3D design.

• Image

On 2D coin’s surface, the images are flat and there is no obvious raised and recessed part on metal. And the 3D image of challenge coin will be raised on the border and image in details looks vividly.

• Structure

Normally, die struck custom coins of both types have raised and recessed areas. The difference is that 2D custom coins essentially have two levels of metal, a flat background and a raised surface. The 3D coins have a flat plains together with another levels, these gradation levels are level 1(1D), level 2(2D), level 3(3D).

The 2D/3D variations or graduation in levels makes the logo or image of custom coin cheap looks more realistic, and textures and details can be seen on 3D surface.

• Color

For color fill, you can choose enamel colors or not on your 2D coins if you like, and there is no color for most 3D challenge coins.

On 2D coins, the features are added to only two levels – the uppermost level and a recessed level. This is great for holding colors by adding outlines to contain the colored enamels, which make 2D design more colorful.

Due to special 3D mould, and there is no area to contain the liquid enamel on the 3D image, so we don’t apply colors to fill any part of the 3D image, but we can have color fill around other parts of on surface.

However, a 3D design is not necessarily more beautiful and better than a 2D design. Coins for sale with both 2D and 3D design can help you make an outstanding impression if you chose proper design for your custom coins. It is important to decide the best technique for your chosen subject. Here are some advices for you.

The 3D style works great for mountains, statues, images of people, animals and other objects that are 3D in real life. 3D gives more granularity in the design and looks better when all details are preferable on levels, such as a portrait.

With 3D design, there are more levels at which we can add detail, and 3D images on challenge coins will make a realistic look.

Objects, such as castles and monuments, are beautiful as 2D minted challenge coin. Because of with so many symmetrical lines, image in 3D design gives more negative affect than we desired. And 2D design simplifies the image to make a perfect appearance sometimes.

If you are look for excellent 2D and 3D design of custom coins cheap, then you would come to GS-JJ, a professional challenge coin maker. Our cheap challenge coins can be minted with your 2D or 3D design on one or both sides. We provide great design, free artwork for discount challenge coins at competitive price, and custom challenge coins no minimum are available. Shop challenge coin products here!

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