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How to Approach Making a Set of Custom Spinner Challenge Coins
The best way to make an interesting spinner coin is to consider how adding any sort of interactive element will elevate your coin design. A custom boot shaped challenge coin with a spinning heel spur is the perfect example of how to accentuate a design with a characteristic spinner, but there are countless other ideas like spinning globes, propellers and jet fighters that make for memorable designs.
Whether you need a set of military challenge coins, corporate challenge coins or any other type of design, adding a spinner that moves along with the theme of your design will take your coins to the next level.
Choosing the Right Type of Custom Spinner for Your Challenge Coin Design
There are two general styles of spinner coins to choose from: Internal spinners and floating spinners. In regard to challenge coin cost, they are considered the same, but each comes with advantages and disadvantages in style, functionality and aesthetic.
Internal spinners sit within a cut out portion of a challenge coin design. They can be large, taking up almost the entire design, or they can be relatively small. In either case, it’s important to remember that the spinner needs enough room to rotate freely. The smaller the cut out portion of the coin, the smaller the spinner will have to be. Smaller spinners rotate easily, but sometimes don’t have enough mass to spin quickly for a prolonged period of time. If you’re looking for a spinner coin that spins quickly and easily, consider a design with a larger cut out and a heavier spinner.
All spinners are held in place by a pin that acts as the axis of rotation. In the case of internal spinners, the pin is usually aligned with the top and bottom of a coin and allows the spinner to rotate inside the cut out with a light flick. Floating spinners, on the other hand, are more like the hands of a clock. The spinner sits on top of the coin face and rotates clockwise and counterclockwise while the coin face stays still.
These types of spinners often take up a lot of space, obscuring the design of the coin face. This is why it’s so important to ensure a spinner adds to the theme of the artwork because it will no doubt be the centerpiece of the design.
While internal spinners and floating spinners help us categorize most of the spinner coins we help design, there are some designs that defy categorization. We are always on the lookout for new and interesting ideas for spinner coins. If you have an idea for your own unique spinner coin, give us a call today, and we’ll help bring that idea to life!
Getting Started on Your Own Set of Custom Spinner Challenge Coins
One of the first things to consider when you create a coin with moving parts is that the final design will require more than one coin mold. The coin itself will, of course, need a mold, but the spinner piece will also need a mold. Once each is finished, the two pieces are put together to form a finished spinner challenge coin. This makes custom spinner coins more expensive than your everyday challenge coin, but they are also so much more than your average challenge coin.
Our custom challenge coin template, which you can download below, provides some insight on coin pricing as well as places to sketch out your ideas and check off the options you like best. Fill one out and include it with your free quote form, and our art team will set to work on your first proof of artwork.
Choose the Best Custom Coin Maker to Help Bring Your Spinner Coins to Life
Our Signature Coins team has been handcrafting interactive coins since the year 2000. The custom spinner coins we help create come in all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes. If you’re ready with your own spinner coin idea, fill out a free quote today, and see what makes us the best challenge coin maker online.
We offer free artwork and revisions to every customer, whether you need a set of interactive challenge coins, a traditional set of medallion shaped coins or any other design. Every order comes with free shipping, a 100% quality guarantee, and you won’t have to pay a dime until you are completely satisfied with your design.
From Your Vision to a Finished Masterpiece
Don't touch a pixel. Our award-winning design team handles everything, you just share your idea and approve the proof.
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Challenge Coin Pricing
Spinner
| Size | 50 |
|---|---|
| 1.5" | $6.03 |
Color on Both Sides (Up to 7 Colors per Side)
| Size | 50 |
|---|---|
| 1.5" | $6.03 |
Color on One Side (Up to 7 Colors)
| Size | 50 |
|---|---|
| 1.5" | $6.03 |
No Color (Metal Only)
| Size | 50 |
|---|---|
| 1.5" | $6.03 |
Mold Setup Fees
| Size | 50 |
|---|---|
| 1.5" | $6.03 |
Custom Coin Customer Reviews
Spinner Challenge Coin FAQs
A spinner coin has a second piece that rotates on a pin pressed through the coin, so the center of the design spins with a flick.
There are two styles. Internal spinners sit inside a cut out portion of the coin and rotate within it; the bigger the cut out, the heavier the spinner and the longer it spins. Floating spinners sit on top of the coin face and rotate like the hands of a clock while the face stays still.
Because the coin and the spinner each need their own mold, spinner coins cost more than a standard challenge coin, and the moving piece becomes the centerpiece of the design.
Read more in our Help CenterYes. A coin does not have to be round. Cut to shape coins are die-cut to the outline of whatever you send us: a unit emblem, a badge or shield, a company logo, a state, a helmet, a ticket stub, a rectangle, a square or a hexagon.
Simple geometric shapes like rectangles and squares cost the same as a round coin. Intricate outlines and interior cut outs add a setup fee because the die has to be cut to follow the artwork.
If you are not sure your idea will work as a shape, send it in with a free quote and our art team will show you the outline on the first proof.
Read more in our Help CenterOur minimum for custom molded coins is 50 per design. Per-coin pricing improves at every quantity tier above that — compare them on our challenge coin pricing page.
If you need fewer than 50, our no-minimum custom coin builder lets you order as few as one coin, and stock and personalized coins have no minimum either. We can also produce a 5-coin pre-production sample against a larger order, though it isn’t cost-effective on its own.
Read more in our Help CenterThrough years of experience, we’ve been able to streamline our process and keep you informed on timing.
After the custom coin design (Proof) is approved and ordered, the project goes directly into production. Standard coins take 3–4 weeks of production; shipping is additional (free, typically a few days).
For instance, a non-colored antique design with no upgrade features typically takes 3–4 weeks. Special designs — dual plating, 3D, special enamels — add production time.
We also offer USA Made Rush for coins: simulated enamel in 3–5 days of production, die struck in 7–10 days. Check in with us for timelines for your specific design.
Read more in our Help Center
