Custom Medals & Challenge Coins — No Hidden Mold Fees. No Guesswork.
MedalSmith is a custom metal sourcing partner for race directors, police and fire departments,
schools, clubs and brands worldwide — and for creators and community leaders building their own
brand. We make custom medals, challenge coins, lapel pins and metal gifts to order — minimum 50
pieces, mold fees published at $80–$300 and charged once, standard delivery in 18–25 days. We
don't own a factory; we match each order to the workshop best at that process, then QC it ourselves.
MOQ 50 · Free digital proof in 24h · Mold fee published upfront · 18–25 days standard
What We Make: Custom Medals, Challenge Coins, Lapel Pins & Metal Gifts
Four product lines. All of them custom, all of them die-cast or die-struck. Every item below is made to your artwork with a new mold. That is why the mold fee is listed on every
page instead of buried in a quote — and why a reorder within 24 months never pays for it twice.
Custom Medals
Marathon, triathlon, trail, school and employee recognition medals in zinc alloy with soft or
hard enamel, 3D relief and spinner structures.
Unit price: Request quote · mold fee $80–150
Challenge Coins
Police, fire, military, union, fraternity and anniversary coins with antique plating, dual plating
and reeded, rope or cross-cut edges.
From $3.50/pc at 100–299 pcs · mold fee $80–300
Lapel Pins
Soft enamel, hard enamel, die-struck and printed pins for clubs, brands, fundraisers and
staff recognition.
Unit price: Request quote · mold fee $80–150
Metal Gifts
Keychains, bottle openers, fridge magnets and luggage tags — the add-on that makes a budget gift
feel like a $12 one. HS code 8306.30.
Unit price: Request quote · mold fee $80–150
Who We Work With: Race Directors, Police & Fire, Schools and Brands
Which one of these is you? Most buyers don't wake up wanting "zinc alloy die casting." They wake up with a date on a calendar.
Pick the line that sounds like your week.
Race Directors
Your race is in 10 weeks. Here is the medal timeline, the ribbon choices and the number of
medals to order so you don't run out at the finish line.
Race Medal Kit · medal + ribbon + packaging
Police · Fire · Military
Department coins, unit coins, academy classes and retirement pieces — where the edge detail and
the back-side text matter more than the price.
Challenge Coin Kit · coin + capsule + pouch
HR & Marketing Teams
Service awards, sales kickoffs and client gifts in batches of 50–300, with names laser-engraved
on the back and no minimum-order drama.
Corporate Recognition Kit
Schools & Clubs
Sports day, graduation, debate finals, booster clubs — small runs of 50–150 pieces with a
budget that has to be approved by someone else.
MOQ 50 · Request quote
What Other Suppliers Don't Tell You: Published Mold Fees, No Hidden Charges
What other suppliers won't tell you — every custom metal order starts with a mold. Most suppliers quote the piece price and stay quiet
about the rest until you have already spent a week on emails. Here is the whole bill, in one place.
| What it is about | What you usually hear | What we publish on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | "No minimum — we can do 1 piece." The mold fee then lands on one medal, and the unit price quietly becomes $180. |
MOQ 50. Small runs are quoted per project and confirmed in writing. |
| Mold fee | "Mold fee? Our engineer will confirm." It appears later as an unexplained line item. | $80–$150 for a 2D mold, $150–$300 for complex 3D. Charged once, itemized on the quotation, and the mold belongs to you. |
| Design work | "Free design" means a template swap, not artwork drawn for your race. | A 24-hour free digital proof drawn on your actual die shape, with unlimited revisions until you approve it. |
| Lead time | "15–30 days" — no start date, no end date, no accountability for your event day. | A date, not a range: order by Oct 20 → in your hands by Nov 12. Written on the quotation before you pay a deposit. |
| Reorders | "Reorders are easy" — with no statement about whether you pay the mold fee again. | Reorders within 24 months skip the mold charge. We store the die at our cost and confirm its condition before the run. |
Our Factory Network — and Why We Can Publish All of This
We don't own a factory. We own the process. We match each order to the production line that is best
at that specific step — die casting to one shop, enamel filling to another, plating to a third — and
then we inspect every order ourselves before it leaves. A single factory can only sell you what it
already runs. We are not stuck with one line's minimums or one line's schedule.
Read how the network works →
What Custom Medals Cost: 2026 Price Matrix & Instant Estimate
What will your order actually cost? Four selections. Real numbers from our published price matrix. No email required to see the result —
we ask for your email only after you have the number, because a quote you can't see first isn't a quote.
Heads up: our minimum is 50 pieces. Below that we
cannot open a mold economically.
Your estimate
Provisional estimate — final price confirmed after artwork review
Estimates in USD, EXW, excluding freight, duties and taxes. Exact quote confirmed
after artwork review.
| Product | 50 – 99 pcs | 100 – 299 pcs | 300 – 999 pcs | 1000+ pcs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom medals | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote |
| Challenge coins | Request quote | $3.50 – $4.20 | Request quote | Request quote |
| Lapel pins | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote |
| Metal gifts (keychains, openers, magnets) | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote | Request quote |
Prices are per piece and exclude the one-time mold fee ($80 – $300, waived on
reorders within 24 months) and freight. $3.50–4.20 per coin at 100–299 pieces, versus $5.13 at the
same quantity from signaturecoins.com (public price, checked Nov 2026). Other tiers will be published
once our 2026 factory rate card is finalized.
Full price matrix, including mold fees by process →
Finishes and When to Use Each: Soft Enamel, Hard Enamel, Antique and 3D
Six finishes — and when each one is the right call. The finish changes the price by 15–25% and the look by a lot more than that. Here is the honest version
of what each one does.
Soft enamel
Choose it when you want strong color contrast and the lowest unit price. The
enamel sits in recessed areas, so you can feel the metal ridges. 90% of race medals are made this way.
Hard enamel (cloisonné)
Choose it when the piece has to feel like jewelry — flat, polished, scratch-resistant.
Adds about 15–25% to the unit price and needs one extra polishing pass.
Antique plating
Choose it when you want a coin or medal to look 30 years old on day one. Antique
gold, antique silver and antique bronze are the three standards; lettering stays legible where
polished plating would glare.
3D sculpted relief
Choose it when the design has a character, a mountain profile or a building that
has to read from 10 feet away. Needs a 3D mold ($150–300) and 2–3 extra days of tooling.
Spinner / hinged / cut-out
Choose it when you want a finisher medal people film at the finish line. A rotating
center adds assembly time and a second mold component — quote it before you promise it to a sponsor.
UV print
Choose it when the artwork has gradients, photos or more than 6 spot colors.
Cheaper than extra enamel colors, but it sits on the surface — better for pins and gifts than for a
medal that will be worn against a shirt.
From Your Artwork to Your Door: 12 Steps in 18–25 Days
You are not buying a mystery box from a factory you will never see. You get a photo at every stage
that can go wrong.
-
Artwork review
We check resolution, line weight and whether your
detail survives a 2" (50mm) mold.Day 0
-
Digital proof
A color mock-up on the actual die shape, free,
revised until you approve.24 hours
-
Mold cutting
Steel die cut from your approved vector. This is what
the mold fee pays for.5–7 days
-
Die casting
Zinc alloy (or brass / iron) cast under pressure, then
trimmed and tumbled.1–2 days
-
Polishing
Edges smoothed so the enamel line stays crisp and the
piece does not catch on fabric.1 day
-
Plating
Gold, silver, antique or black nickel. Color-fastness is
checked against a plated sample.1–2 days
-
Enamel filling
Color by color, by hand, then baked. This is the step
most factories rush.2–3 days
-
Sample approval
A physical sample ships in 48h if you want to hold it
before the full run.3–5 days
-
Mass production
Full run against the approved sample. No silent
substitutions of metal or plating.7–10 days
-
QC — AQL 2.5
12 checkpoints, sample size per AQL 2.5, defects
photographed and reported.2–3 days
-
Ribbon & assembly
Ribbons attached, clips fitted, pieces counted
into their individual bags.1–2 days
-
Packing & dispatch
Cartons labeled for your venue or 3PL, photos
of the packed boxes sent before pickup.1 day
Five progress photos, every order
Timestamps come with each photo, so you always know which day of
the 18–25 day schedule you are on.
Die cut, first test strike
Plated and filled sample
Line running, count on the bench
Inspection bench + defect log
Labeled cartons before pickup
Mold Fees and What You Actually Pay For: $80–$300, Paid Once
This is the number that decides whether a reorder is easy or expensive. We publish it, and we put the
storage promise in writing on the quotation.
| Mold type | Typical use | One-time fee |
|---|---|---|
| 2D standard | Flat relief, 1–2 levels, standard shapes up to 3" | $80 – $150 |
| 2D complex | Fine lettering, cut-outs, tight tolerances | $120 – $180 |
| 3D simple | Single-level sculpted relief | $150 – $220 |
| 3D complex | Multi-level relief, spinner or hinged construction | $220 – $300 |
| First order | Reorder within 24 months | |
|---|---|---|
| Mold fee | $80 – $300, one time, paid at order confirmation | $0 — no second tooling charge |
| Unit price effect | Quoted separately; the mold fee is never folded into the piece price | Piece price only — nothing added for tooling, and no "setup" fee under another name |
| Tooling ownership | The mold is yours from day one; a photo of the finished die is sent with your 5 progress photos | Still yours; we store the die at our cost and confirm its condition before the run |
Ask for die photos at any time — before the first run, or three
years later. The mold does not become ours by staying in our storage.
Case Studies: Full Specs and Published Prices
Concept projects, labeled honestly. We are a new brand. Rather than borrow someone else's photos and call them clients, we show you the
specs and timelines we build to — clearly marked as concept projects until a client authorizes the
real thing.
800 finisher medals — half marathon
800 pcs · 3" (75mm) · zinc alloy · soft enamel · antique gold · dye-sublimated ribbon.
Target schedule: 21 days door to door.
150 challenge coins — county sheriff
150 pcs · 2" (50mm) · 3D relief · antique bronze · reeded edge · acrylic capsule.
Target schedule: 24 days door to door.
300 service awards — 10-year milestone
300 pcs · 1.75" (45mm) · hard enamel · gold plating · laser-engraved name on the back.
Target schedule: 19 days door to door.
Custom Medal & Challenge Coin FAQs
Before you email us. The eight answers that unblock most first orders. The full list of 20 is on the
FAQ page.
What is your minimum order quantity?
50 pieces per design. Small-run pricing is quoted per project and confirmed in writing before you commit, so a small first run does not carry a penalty on top of tooling.
How much is the mold fee, and do I pay it again on a reorder?
$80–$150 for a 2D mold and $150–$300 for a complex 3D mold, quoted before you
commit. On any reorder of the same design within 24 months, the mold charge is $0. The mold belongs
to you and we store it at our cost.
How long does production take?
18–25 days standard: mold 5–7 days, sample 3–5 days, mass production 7–10
days, QC 2–3 days. Rush orders are quoted per project — tell us your deadline before approving artwork.
The Bottom Line: What Arrives, What Shipping Costs, and What We Cannot Promise
What the finished goods look like when the box opens. Half of the disappointment in this industry comes from mismatched expectations about packaging, not
about the product. Here is exactly what arrives.
Packed for a venue, not a warehouse
Standard: each piece in an individual poly bag, 50–100 per inner box, labeled with design name and
quantity. Custom backing cards, velvet pouches and gift boxes are quoted as add-ons.
Ribbons arrive attached
Plain polyester ribbons are included with the bulk order and fitted before packing. Dye-sublimated
printing adds $0.30–$0.60 per piece; woven jacquard is priced per design.
Customs is on the invoice
We ship with HS code 8306.30 and a commercial invoice that matches the declared value. US buyers pay
no federal VAT; Canadian buyers may owe GST/HST on import. Duties are never hidden in the unit price.
The one thing we cannot promise
We can't make a 2" medal hold 14 lines of 6-point text. If your artwork will not survive the mold, we
will tell you on day one and show you what will — usually by simplifying the type or moving detail to
the back. That conversation is free and it happens before you pay for tooling.
Start With a Free Digital Proof: Four Ways to Move Forward, None Cost Anything Yet
Free digital proof
Send artwork or a sketch. Get a color mock-up on the real die shape within 24 hours, revised until
it is right.
Physical sample
$30–50 sample fee, shipped in 48 hours, credited 100% to your order. Hold the weight and the color
before you commit.
2026 pricing guide
Every price band we publish, in one PDF, including mold fees and rush surcharges. No sales call
attached.
Artwork guide
What file types work, what to do if you only have a JPG, and how to check your design at 2" before
we cut a mold.