What Are My Plating Options?
With DESENT GIFTS metal coins, you have the ability to choose from eight different coin plating options.
Each offers its own unique look and feel to your custom challenge coin.
Gold Plating
A lot of the gold you come into contact with on a daily basis is plated or gold-filled as opposed to pure solid gold. This is because items plated in gold as opposed to made of pure gold actually have increased durability, and are, of course, exponentially less expensive to create.
In addition to the high-class look of gold, the metal is prized for its resistance to oxidation and general fading. Gold plating with coins is offered in either Antique or High Polish options. This plating is most popular with the United States Army and Coast Guard.
Antique gold plated coins offer a higher level of contrast allowing for increased visibility for finer details like text. High Polish gold adds a touch of class to your coins and makes them look expensive. Both options make use of 24K gold.
Silver Plating
Like gold, silver plating is offered in both the Antique and High Polish options. Antique silver most closely resembles antique pewter and gives your coin a sense of age and durability. These coins are less likely to show scratches or dents over time. Meanwhile, High Polish plating creates a high mirror shine to the coins. These coins benefit from darker lettering or a sandblasted metal background to add the needed contrast to make out finer details. High polished and antique silver plating is extremely popular with Naval customers and corporate clients.
Copper Plating
Often overlooked in favor of silver or gold, copper creates a remarkably unique and classic look for a coin. Each coin is plated in copper and then polished to a beautiful bright reddish shine. Choosing contrasting colors goes a long way towards creating a sharp definition in your overall design. Another option is to get the coin itself made out of copper and then have it polished to a high shine. Antique copper far exceeds high polished copper in terms of popularity, since high polished copper can look a little pink, almost like rose gold.
Black Metal Powder Coating
Black metal conveys strength and durability in a unique fashion from other coins. While other coins often have a general metal shine or a high polish look, the matte-like finish of black metal gives these coins the immediate ability to stand out. The black metal also lends itself perfectly to brighter colored paints and designs. While this is technically not a plating as the unique finish is applied through a powder coating process, the option is available to you alongside the traditional plating choices.
Nickel Plating
Nickel plating is something everyone should be familiar with as it often coats household products such as doorknobs, cutlery, and shower fixtures for enhanced decoration and wear resistance. With coins, our nickel plating options include both Antique and Black Nickel.
Colored Metal Finishes
We also offer a number of different colored metals for your coin. With the colored metal options, you can apply a base color to the coin that will allow your logo or custom colors, once painted or otherwise applied to the coin, to shine through. This, like the black metal, is a powder-coated option.