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[Official 2015 Challenge Coin Thread] Coin Orders close March 8th.

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Posts

  • DevereauxDevereaux Registered User regular
    I agree....ditch the year.

    Check out my lanyard and let's trade ;)https://www.pinnypals.com/pals/Devereaux
  • nosutnosut MA, USRegistered User regular
    The year just does not look good. I am in favor of ditching it. The overlapping look is just...bad. I think either the year needs to go or the V. Im in agreement with @vttym about it looking a bit strange without the road or anything else. It doesn't look bad but the road would help a lot I think.

  • TopherRocksTopherRocks Rockstar Beard Grower Kent, OH or Long Island, NYRegistered User regular
    I'm in favor of ditching the year. It's a bit too mixed up with this being PAX East 6 but BCEC 5. I'm all for just the V.

  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited January 2015
    Comments have been taken into account, the Year being.. 6 and not 5, oh wow, that would have been embarrassing.

    We have 3 choices now.
    I've asked PCC to add the sidewalk outside the BCEC, and the skyline in the background if possible.
    While they do that, we have a lightning round vote.

    Ignore the BCEC side, we just didn't have a watermark free version to work with, so went with our old one.

    SKbyBt2.jpg
    tjP3ICi.jpg
    T8dUpcT.jpg

    http://goo.gl/forms/CalhCpMdEP
    Voting will end Wednesday night at Midnight EST (0:00 Thursday morning)
    Scores will be tallied, emails will be sent.

    SutibunRi on
  • GoreySailorGoreySailor Boston, MARegistered User regular
    Either loading design would be awesome!! Thanks!

  • rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    i like the 1st one out of the 3 options

  • mindflare77mindflare77 OhioRegistered User regular
    I'm a fan of the 1st option, with "Loading: Year 6", personally. No real preference for the BCEC side.

    8BFpSWC.png


    PSN/Steam: mindflare77
  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    Okay, these guys work fast.
    9S2AqqG.jpg

  • cardkid123cardkid123 Registered User regular
    I would take out the year and the v all together and just give the computer the loading sign with the actual number of years pax east has been.

  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    @‌cardkid123

    Vote for it in the form! Suti just posted that to show the updated BCEC side. We are still waiting to send the revision on the other side to them for when voting has finished.

    http://goo.gl/forms/CalhCpMdEP

  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    I really like that BCEC side now - more life to it. I honestly feel like the large V in the support beams for the BCEC work for the 5th year there as well. I'll put my vote in on the form for the other side.

  • ScoJoMoScoJoMo Registered User regular
    The sidewalk and skyline are HUGE improvements! Kudos on that!

  • TopherRocksTopherRocks Rockstar Beard Grower Kent, OH or Long Island, NYRegistered User regular
    Holy crap, I didn't think the BCEC side needed any changes but that new one looks incredible.

  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited January 2015
    Holy crap, I didn't think the BCEC side needed any changes but that new one looks incredible.

    I hadn't thought so either, but some good points were made, and this just brought it up to a whole new level.


    We have a quote now. $8 per coin.
    And I had been almost exactly right with the Die cost estimate, So, anyone who wants to can head over to the GoFundMe and throw a couple bucks at it.

    Edit: If anyone would like to opt out of being on the list that gets @'d when I have updates to share, toss me a PM.

    SutibunRi on
  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    I have offered this in past years, but have been ignored.

    I've attended PAX East the last several years. I also run a challenge coin company. We are the largest supplier of US Navy Challenge coins in the world.

    $8/each is way too much for this coin. If you are ordering more than 100, you should not be paying die fees on these.

    Where are the military people chiming in on these prices?

    I apologize for my tone, but again, I offered to make this in the past and was ignored out of hand. It bothers me to see people being taken advantaged of.


    SutibunRi wrote: »
    Holy crap, I didn't think the BCEC side needed any changes but that new one looks incredible.

    I hadn't thought so either, but some good points were made, and this just brought it up to a whole new level.


    We have a quote now. $8 per coin.
    And I had been almost exactly right with the Die cost estimate, So, anyone who wants to can head over to the GoFundMe and throw a couple bucks at it.

    Edit: If anyone would like to opt out of being on the list that gets @'d when I have updates to share, toss me a PM.

  • TheYimTheYim Registered User regular
    eh.... it's fine. I expected more. You pay $8 for a hotdog w/o the roll @ PAX. I think I'll be upping my purchase count. Well done @SutibunRi‌

  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    I understand and I apologize if I sounded a little abrupt.

    Give me a day to provide artwork and a quote for comparison.

    I would not need money up front and should be able to do these under $4.50/each for 300 with no other fees. Shipping included.

    I will link a dropbox folder of some recent coins we've done if anyone here is interested.


    TheYim wrote: »
    eh.... it's fine. I expected more. You pay $8 for a hotdog w/o the roll @ PAX. I think I'll be upping my purchase count. Well done @SutibunRi‌

  • cardkid123cardkid123 Registered User regular
    akidderz wrote: »
    I understand and I apologize if I sounded a little abrupt.

    Give me a day to provide artwork and a quote for comparison.

    I would not need money up front and should be able to do these under $4.50/each for 300 with no other fees. Shipping included.

    I will link a dropbox folder of some recent coins we've done if anyone here is interested.


    TheYim wrote: »
    eh.... it's fine. I expected more. You pay $8 for a hotdog w/o the roll @ PAX. I think I'll be upping my purchase count. Well done @SutibunRi‌
    I wouldn't sacrifice quality for price, but if the coins done through your company are similar quality, I can't see why we shouldn't do it cheaper.

  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    @akidderz‌
    That is, kind of an incredible offer.
    I'd love to see the recent coins you've done to take a look at the level of detail on your coins compared to PCC, as someone said, we wouldn't want to sacrifice quality to save a couple bucks.
    Does your company have a website we could check for reviews and such?

  • Le_GoatLe_Goat Frechified Goat Person BostonRegistered User regular
    edited January 2015
    I really dig the new BCEC side and also like the PC idea of "Loading... Year 6".

    Nicely done.

    Le_Goat on
    While I agree that being insensitive is an issue, so is being oversensitive.
  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    akidderz wrote: »
    I understand and I apologize if I sounded a little abrupt.

    Give me a day to provide artwork and a quote for comparison.

    I would not need money up front and should be able to do these under $4.50/each for 300 with no other fees. Shipping included.

    I will link a dropbox folder of some recent coins we've done if anyone here is interested.


    TheYim wrote: »
    eh.... it's fine. I expected more. You pay $8 for a hotdog w/o the roll @ PAX. I think I'll be upping my purchase count. Well done @SutibunRi‌

    @akidderz I can provide you with the AI file for the front side of the coin tonight if you would like, it would save you some time/effort.

  • gigabraingigabrain Some guy...yknow New HampshireRegistered User regular
    edited January 2015
    akidderz wrote: »

    Where are the military people chiming in on these prices?

    Hi there @akidderz‌. Military person chiming in here. I've spearheaded coins in the past (unit and personal). I'll admit that we're a little higher on the prices than I'm used to seeing, but that also depends on the other details of the coin that @SutibunRi‌ is pricing. Example questions: What finish are we looking at? Size? Edging? Coin material?

    We're not going with colors or a clearcoat over the designs, and we're also not purchasing via a GSA contract/PO/IMPAC card. (which would affect pricing).

    We also have an established relationship with Phoenix, as we've used them going on 3 (correct me if I'm wrong) years now. They've worked their asses off in the past to get us coins much faster than we expected, as well as fixing errors at no extra cost to us. I know in past years we priced from Northwest Territorial Mint (die fee), US Challenge Coins (die fee) and other vendors whose names escape me, but Phoenix also makes it easy to purchase/ship.

    gigabrain on
    fclLCwN.png

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  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    I've already got an artist working on the draft.

    The following dropbox link has some recent coins we've done.

    Note: the military is really into color (enamel paint) on coins and also into odd-shaped coins. I tried to provide a couple more classic coins, but we honestly don't do that many like that right now. I think the one I included is from the Colombian Navy.

    If anyone has any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. We've been in business for 10 years and 99% of our customers are current military ships, commands, and deployed units.

    https://dropbox.com/sh/k81jcbq2f3sriw5/AAASkh5OKgJ62tI_bV_JaS9Za?dl=0
    Mvrck wrote: »
    akidderz wrote: »
    I understand and I apologize if I sounded a little abrupt.

    Give me a day to provide artwork and a quote for comparison.

    I would not need money up front and should be able to do these under $4.50/each for 300 with no other fees. Shipping included.

    I will link a dropbox folder of some recent coins we've done if anyone here is interested.


    TheYim wrote: »
    eh.... it's fine. I expected more. You pay $8 for a hotdog w/o the roll @ PAX. I think I'll be upping my purchase count. Well done @SutibunRi‌

    @akidderz I can provide you with the AI file for the front side of the coin tonight if you would like, it would save you some time/effort.

  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    Appreciate you chiming in.

    Northwest is expensive -- they are the big player in our niche market. Them and Vanguard. They both make good coins, but you can find comparable quality for much lower prices.

    I honestly never heard of Phoenix before. Not good or bad. That probably just means they aren't big in the US Navy market, while they could be huge in others. If you guys have had a solid experience with them, I completely understand that.

    Making custom goods is so high risk, relationships become very important. As does trust. We don't advertise, so most of our customers come to us because they have received our coin from someone else. We normally don't have to make a fuss about quality, because someone has a coin of ours in hand.

    I saw the design before I said anything. I was commenting on the pricing for your QTY and your design.

    A GSA contract or government purchase sadly usually makes coins MORE expensive, not less.

    Alex
    gigabrain wrote: »
    akidderz wrote: »

    Where are the military people chiming in on these prices?

    Hi there @akidderz‌. Military person chiming in here. I've spearheaded coins in the past (unit and personal). I'll admit that we're a little higher on the prices than I'm used to seeing, but that also depends on the other details of the coin that @SutibunRi‌ is pricing. Example questions: What finish are we looking at? Size? Edging? Coin material?

    We're not going with colors or a clearcoat over the designs, and we're also not purchasing via a GSA contract/PO/IMPAC card. (which would affect pricing).

    We also have an established relationship with Phoenix, as we've used them going on 3 (correct me if I'm wrong) years now. They've worked their asses off in the past to get us coins much faster than we expected, as well as fixing errors at no extra cost to us. I know in past years we priced from Northwest Territorial Mint (die fee), US Challenge Coins (die fee) and other vendors whose names escape me, but Phoenix also makes it easy to purchase/ship.

  • gigabraingigabrain Some guy...yknow New HampshireRegistered User regular
    akidderz wrote: »
    Appreciate you chiming in.

    Northwest is expensive -- they are the big player in our niche market. Them and Vanguard. They both make good coins, but you can find comparable quality for much lower prices.

    I honestly never heard of Phoenix before. Not good or bad. That probably just means they aren't big in the US Navy market, while they could be huge in others. If you guys have had a solid experience with them, I completely understand that.

    Making custom goods is so high risk, relationships become very important. As does trust. We don't advertise, so most of our customers come to us because they have received our coin from someone else. We normally don't have to make a fuss about quality, because someone has a coin of ours in hand.

    I saw the design before I said anything. I was commenting on the pricing for your QTY and your design.

    A GSA contract or government purchase sadly usually makes coins MORE expensive, not less.

    Alex
    gigabrain wrote: »
    akidderz wrote: »

    Where are the military people chiming in on these prices?

    Hi there @akidderz‌. Military person chiming in here. I've spearheaded coins in the past (unit and personal). I'll admit that we're a little higher on the prices than I'm used to seeing, but that also depends on the other details of the coin that @SutibunRi‌ is pricing. Example questions: What finish are we looking at? Size? Edging? Coin material?

    We're not going with colors or a clearcoat over the designs, and we're also not purchasing via a GSA contract/PO/IMPAC card. (which would affect pricing).

    We also have an established relationship with Phoenix, as we've used them going on 3 (correct me if I'm wrong) years now. They've worked their asses off in the past to get us coins much faster than we expected, as well as fixing errors at no extra cost to us. I know in past years we priced from Northwest Territorial Mint (die fee), US Challenge Coins (die fee) and other vendors whose names escape me, but Phoenix also makes it easy to purchase/ship.

    Oh trust me, I'm well aware of the contract pricing fact. Sadly though, sometimes its a requirement. I have friends who've worked with one customer for a lot of their coin needs and they could probably stand to move providers (as their orders have gotten smaller and smaller) but as you said, relationships are important.

    Some of the designs you showed were definitely interesting. My coin case has some interesting ones but it's mostly just bottle openers and cutouts for "fancy". Nothing like what you produce.

    fclLCwN.png

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  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    Wanted to share one more we just did. 4 pieces that fit together for the Chicago Pride MidWest Naval Stations.

    hke16nnhel6s.jpg
    nvmbmhujnmi1.jpg
    bj1dw8dd34r2.jpg
    1uclneo5r7sb.jpg
    uor42c50bz8j.jpg
    44q54fdh39c6.jpg
    rir9ux4lzxau.jpg
    7iwlpxzo9oru.jpg
    5wczbc0nwsx4.jpg
    dyuv8kfqsax3.jpg
    d7udblvp2wmo.jpg

  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    Ok, whatever we decide doing, that is a seriously impressive bit of work.

  • gigabraingigabrain Some guy...yknow New HampshireRegistered User regular
    That's....ambitious. Also holy crap.

    fclLCwN.png

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  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    Sorry, I was getting excited. This is my job and usually my gaming life has ZERO overlap.

    Just for reference: that huge coin (the 5" multi-parter above) was roughly $15/each for 300.

    That coin (or coins) has paint, 8 dies, dual plating, etc. -- not that you guys want to paying $15 per coin, but any of the ones I posted in the dropbox link above were under $8/each for 100 coins and many of them are much more complicated than what you guys are currently asking for.
    gigabrain wrote: »
    That's....ambitious. Also holy crap.

  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    The market is changing. Bigger, bolder, more color and 3D. We find guys, especially deployed guys, are constantly trying to out do each other.

    The more basic coins we do now are for foreign Navies. Germany, Colombia, Australian, the UK. Many of these places are just getting into coins now, mostly from exchanging with American ships and they start with basic coins and then work their way up to some pretty out there stuff.

    The Canadians are starting to make coins a lot like American coins now: wx6hpj7pid4f.jpg

    Contrast that with this recent Colombian coin: hvttcrqjw3t7.jpg





    [/quote]

    Oh trust me, I'm well aware of the contract pricing fact. Sadly though, sometimes its a requirement. I have friends who've worked with one customer for a lot of their coin needs and they could probably stand to move providers (as their orders have gotten smaller and smaller) but as you said, relationships are important.

    Some of the designs you showed were definitely interesting. My coin case has some interesting ones but it's mostly just bottle openers and cutouts for "fancy". Nothing like what you produce.[/quote]

  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    edited January 2015
    Could you add a spoiler tag around your coin pictures? ( [ spoiler] [/ spoiler] without the spaces)
    Not because I don't want to see them, they are awesome, just because wow that's a lot of pictures!

    But yeah, we were quoted $8 per coin for 300 coins, which is.. more than 100 coins. ;) (if I also divide up the die cost by 300, the actual cost per coin would be $8.97)

    Your coins do have a lot of colors in them, which, just imagining the possibilities that could open up for a design without bringing our costs up from what people have shown a willingness to pay.. Excuse me while I peel my brain off the wall.

    Edit: Also, Woo! Canada! (I had to!)

    SutibunRi on
  • vttymvttym Ardent Gamer Northern NJRegistered User regular
    I'm all for supporting those that have taken care of us in the past, but I would have no problem supporting a forumer who makes a living selling challenge coins. Particularly if it can be done at equal quality for less. If nothing else, this certainly opens the door for future coins, and I am suddenly in love with the idea of having each year's coin be interlocking puzzle pieces for each of the PAXes (though this would require advanced coordination between the various factions that do coins for their respective PAXes).

    Obviously I'm just a consumer here, so it's not my call - just putting my thoughts down.

  • KaronethKaroneth Elder Scrolling Online Co-Host Lakehurst, NJRegistered User regular
    Amazing options all of a sudden. Phoenix did fine with the coins last year, but if we can (at least in the future) make nicer coins for about the same cost from another vendor, especially one that is part of the PAX community...I'd say go for it.

  • akidderzakidderz Registered User regular
    Yes, I can do spoilers. I was just getting excited and got ahead of myself. My customers care about coins, but very few people outside the military usually do.

    Again, I totally understand you guys going with the people you've worked with before. I just wanted to give you options and perhaps plant a seed for the future.

  • rascrushrascrush Registered User regular
    i say if we can get them for cheaper and they look just as good then why not do it lol

  • gigabraingigabrain Some guy...yknow New HampshireRegistered User regular
    With all the interest and such, maybe we should all look at maybe having a sitdown during PAX one day. This could be very cool

    fclLCwN.png

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  • MvrckMvrck Dwarven MountainhomeRegistered User regular
    I know in the past, the PAX Coins have traditionally strayed away from color, and kept a flat metal finish. But that is not written in stone anywhere. I would say that we should have a very, very good reason for adding color, and not "just because" though.

    As for PCC, they've been solid in the past, and incredibly helpful from what I've heard. But I don't know if they've been helpful enough to justify paying twice what we need to.

  • SutibunRiSutibunRi Montreal, Quebec, CanadaRegistered User regular
    gigabrain wrote: »
    With all the interest and such, maybe we should all look at maybe having a sitdown during PAX one day. This could be very cool
    I would love a chance to compare a Phoenix coin to one of akidderzs coins in person.

    What's the general turn around time on actually making and distributing your coins @akidderz ?
    PAX East is fast approaching, and we are running right up to the deadline with Phoenix.
    You have given me.. ideas.. for another project if not for this one. (Which is not me saying No, it's me saying "&%*$, Phoenix wants to be printing these things in 8 days, I don't want to fumble the ball at the last moment.")
    Mvrck wrote: »
    I know in the past, the PAX Coins have traditionally strayed away from color, and kept a flat metal finish. But that is not written in stone anywhere. I would say that we should have a very, very good reason for adding color, and not "just because" though.

    I can't argue with color needing to be for a special reason, at least for whoever uses it first.
    don't say the bow, don't say the bow, don't say the bow..

  • gigabraingigabrain Some guy...yknow New HampshireRegistered User regular
    SutibunRi wrote: »
    don't say the bow, don't say the bow, don't say the bow..

    Hey, we could put color on the bow!

    fclLCwN.png

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This discussion has been closed.