Generally speaking an Artist Edition coin is produced in a different metal finish or with a different set of colors than the regular production coins. All the coins I have designed have the differences listed on my web site but I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. Sometimes I choose both a different metal and a different color scheme.
A quick example would be the Jeep racers, the Geocoin Store sold them in Red, Green, Yellow and Navy Blue, my Artist Editions were made in Purple and Black. The GCC ones were produced on Black Nickel, mine were produced on Shiny Nickel AND Black Nickel (due to a mixup I got both with shared tracking numbers) Hope that helps!
Yeah that explains a lot, thanks.