how do you guys/gals do it?

[+sparklefingers]

So really this is a more then just one question.

It's not only about how you design them but also about how you get through the process of making it? Is it stressful? does the price of the coins break the bank? etc.

 

I have read a bit about dreals issues with a coin recently and i was just wondering. (the one that ended up on ebay due to the parcel getting lost)

[+drneal]

i'll try to post some information later tonight concerning "Kathy's Coin Too"

 

ILYK

[+sparklefingers]

i'll try to post some information later tonight concerning "Kathy's Coin Too"

 

ILYK

 

Thank you drneal, I do wonder how you manage to go through working on something so nice and then to have issues. I'm really fussy and if I designed something and it didn't come out how I like it or it went missing in the post I would go nuts. I get stressed really easy and i just don't know if I would still have hair after trying to make the coins.

 

Really I am trying to see if it's all worth it every time or if sometimes you just want to say no and stop processing the coins. I just want some stories and experiences really.

[+Landsharkz]

Hi sparkefingers, it sounds like you're in the preliminary 'should I/shouldn't I' stage. You'll find that there are a few opinions of how to proceed. What's easiest and most stress free is to doodle/sketch your design and then send it to a couple of North American coin design/production companies to get an opinion on if it will work in metal/paint/plating. If a coin company tells you that you're pushing any boundaries that might cause a production problem, either do a bit of a redesign or expect your coin to take additional time in production of both the art and the finished product. In summary, be realistic and listen to the experts. Don't ask for the sun, moon and the ISS and then say "I need it in 6 weeks" .

 

It doesn't have to be stressful. If you know that you're easily stressed, take the time to find a company where you can sense that they're acting in your best interests. If you are advised that the coin design won't work then please be open to suggestion on how to edit it, so that it will work. This will save everyone lots of time and stress. Companies get stressed too, because they really want you to be a happy customer who shouts their name from the rooftops. Keep in mind that they may have 30 or 40 coins on the go at one time, not just yours. If they are good, you'll feel like they are only working on your coin, but they know otherwise. You need to explicitly trust the company you choose, so if you're 'not feeling the love', then listen to your instincts and move on to another company. There's lots of good companies, but you need to find the one that feels right for you.

 

Coins 'Breaking the bank' is different things to different people. You'd know your bank account's breaking point for this expenditure and your neighbour would think differently if asked the same question. Some companies will ask for a deposit and invoice the balance upon delivery, others will want you to finance the entire thing as it goes along.

 

Some companies will want you to bring almost die-ready art and you take full responsibility for any design edits/changes and die art approvals. Other companies are a 'one-stop-shop' where you bring sketches, they send you a selection of professionally designed suggested versions, you choose a version, request edits, confirm you're satisfied and then they take care of all interaction with the factory, die art edits, etc while you wait for your coins to arrive and pay the bill from them. They will send you die art to check over and confirm - but by that point it's been edited many times and gone back and forth to the factory many times and they're confident that it's good to go, so your 'OK' is usually just a final check and confirmation. For there to be a spelling mistake on the finished coins and they say that 'YOU missed it' is absolutely unacceptable. If you want to use a foreign language with accents/symbols... then definitely check your spelling carefully, but checking art for spelling and confirming irregular use of the English language should be part of their edit process.

 

Lastly, ask the company for references from some of their recent coin customers. Sure you can ask here too, but there are thousands of coins that get made that never see the light of day on the geocoin forums.

 

Good luck with your endeavour!

[+sparklefingers]

Hi sparkefingers, it sounds like you're in the preliminary 'should I/shouldn't I' stage. You'll find that there are a few opinions of how to proceed. What's easiest and most stress free is to doodle/sketch your design and then send it to a couple of North American coin design/production companies to get an opinion on if it will work in metal/paint/plating. If a coin company tells you that you're pushing any boundaries that might cause a production problem, either do a bit of a redesign or expect your coin to take additional time in production of both the art and the finished product. In summary, be realistic and listen to the experts. Don't ask for the sun, moon and the ISS and then say "I need it in 6 weeks" .

 

It doesn't have to be stressful. If you know that you're easily stressed, take the time to find a company where you can sense that they're acting in your best interests. If you are advised that the coin design won't work then please be open to suggestion on how to edit it, so that it will work. This will save everyone lots of time and stress. Companies get stressed too, because they really want you to be a happy customer who shouts their name from the rooftops. Keep in mind that they may have 30 or 40 coins on the go at one time, not just yours. If they are good, you'll feel like they are only working on your coin, but they know otherwise. You need to explicitly trust the company you choose, so if you're 'not feeling the love', then listen to your instincts and move on to another company. There's lots of good companies, but you need to find the one that feels right for you.

 

Coins 'Breaking the bank' is different things to different people. You'd know your bank account's breaking point for this expenditure and your neighbour would think differently if asked the same question. Some companies will ask for a deposit and invoice the balance upon delivery, others will want you to finance the entire thing as it goes along.

 

Some companies will want you to bring almost die-ready art and you take full responsibility for any design edits/changes and die art approvals. Other companies are a 'one-stop-shop' where you bring sketches, they send you a selection of professionally designed suggested versions, you choose a version, request edits, confirm you're satisfied and then they take care of all interaction with the factory, die art edits, etc while you wait for your coins to arrive and pay the bill from them. They will send you die art to check over and confirm - but by that point it's been edited many times and gone back and forth to the factory many times and they're confident that it's good to go, so your 'OK' is usually just a final check and confirmation. For there to be a spelling mistake on the finished coins and they say that 'YOU missed it' is absolutely unacceptable. If you want to use a foreign language with accents/symbols... then definitely check your spelling carefully, but checking art for spelling and confirming irregular use of the English language should be part of their edit process.

 

Lastly, ask the company for references from some of their recent coin customers. Sure you can ask here too, but there are thousands of coins that get made that never see the light of day on the geocoin forums.

 

Good luck with your endeavour!

 

Thanks landsharkz i do want to make a coin but not until my next contract comes through. (subcontract work sucks.)

[+slowdownracer]

Having a good design ready to go to the mint is important. It saves the coin companies alot of effort and your time waiting. I've dealt with two of the major companies without any problems. They made it easy and I got exactly what I designed.

 

However, if you are doing a geocoin for the group, you have to deal with everyone's opinions and deciding on a final design. That can be the most work of all. Getting everybody to pay was easy with PayPal. Oh yeah, and distributing them all after they are done. That was alot of fun too.

 

For the most part, the money is what keeps some people from doing their own personal coins. It's really not that expensive for 100 coins, unless you just don't have the money. That's your biggest decision of all. Everything else is pretty easy if you have a good design.

[+drneal]

my turn now !

 

it's apparent you've read my posts, and be assured, this has not been an average geocoin experience. My first two coins, chiro-cache and Kathy's Coin were minted flawlessly, and without any drama whatsoever.

 

"Kathy's Coin Too" presented with very different circumstances...for me, this is a very personal geocoin...my wife, Kathy, was killed just a little over 8 years ago...the coin is dedicated to her and all our dogs...it has their images on it...it had to be right.

 

re-read the posts for the "Kathy's Coin Too"...be aware that i came very close to giving up on the coin and probably would have, if not for the support and continuing support of the the people that frequent this forum (they'll help you too, with pointers like those presented to you by landsharkz and slowdownracer,and moral support if needed,) 2 of the minters, the artist, Groundspeak, and my family.

 

did i pull my hair out? not much left to pull. will it be worth it? ask me when the coins are done. do i want to trade coins when yours are completed? absolutely !

 

ILYK

[+sparklefingers]

my turn now !

 

it's apparent you've read my posts, and be assured, this has not been an average geocoin experience. My first two coins, chiro-cache and Kathy's Coin were minted flawlessly, and without any drama whatsoever.

 

"Kathy's Coin Too" presented with very different circumstances...for me, this is a very personal geocoin...my wife, Kathy, was killed just a little over 8 years ago...the coin is dedicated to her and all our dogs...it has their images on it...it had to be right.

 

re-read the posts for the "Kathy's Coin Too"...be aware that i came very close to giving up on the coin and probably would have, if not for the support and continuing support of the the people that frequent this forum (they'll help you too, with pointers like those presented to you by landsharkz and slowdownracer,and moral support if needed,) 2 of the minters, the artist, Groundspeak, and my family.

 

did i pull my hair out? not much left to pull. will it be worth it? ask me when the coins are done. do i want to trade coins when yours are completed? absolutely !

 

ILYK

 

Thank you drneal that's a lovely reason behind your coin.

 

Like I said I have to wait until I'm back on contract before I do get the chance to make a coin and I'm afraid I still won't be able to make 100s.

 

I love to doodle and where I have been out and about due to lack of work (from main job) I've spent some time caching and doodling during those times.

I would really like to do a couple of my designs though one would only be a very small mint as it was designed as a local coin and I would use is as a thank you coin more so then anything else. There have been so many nice coin givers and I want it to be a repayment for that. But then I understand it get cheaper to make each coin the more you make of them.

 

I dunno they may even be silly little scribbles and wouldn't work.

 

Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.

[+drneal]

there are minters out there that will produce a coin (if they like the artwork and ideas behind your "scribbles".) usually you get some LE's for you own for helping to design the coin...just another thought. anyone care to chime in that's done this in the past?

 

ILYK

[+scificollector]

there are minters out there that will produce a coin (if they like the artwork and ideas behind your "scribbles".) usually you get some LE's for you own for helping to design the coin...just another thought. anyone care to chime in that's done this in the past?

 

ILYK

 

Yep. I've done that twice now. Once with a commercial design(Schrodinger's Cat Geocoin)sold at the store and once with a coin for the Geocoin Club (October 2012 -Elephant geocoin). Both times the mint was great to work with and I learned quite a bit about designing in the process. I have some other designs that I may go that route again until I can build up some capital to start minting my own.

[avroair]

So really this is a more then just one question.

It's not only about how you design them but also about how you get through the process of making it? Is it stressful? does the price of the coins break the bank? etc.

 

I design coins for fun. So no, it's not stressful. The process of design is different for every coin I have done. Some I have an idea, sketch it and it's done in 30 minutes others percolate for years, others I join forces with another designer... all depends on the coin.

 

Minting a coin is easy but can be stressful: it all comes down to communicating clearly what you want and how you want it. Coins can be fun and profitable, don't need to break the bank.

[+fox-and-the-hound]

Every coin is definitely as unique a production process as the people, stories and events they represent. For myself, I was hopelessly addicted to coins and cost of continuing to buy every single coin I loved was getting a bit expensive. When I figured out I could create my own personal coin and trade them it became much more manageable cost wise. It's not a cheap hobby, but it doesn't have to break your bank either. It can actually save you money if you really enjoy trading so you have to look at it in the long term to really appreciate the difference. I agree with the others that you could definitely benefit by working with someone who has already designed and/or produced coins before. Look around at the coins you love and note just what makes them tick for you. See who designed or worked on them and if they're available to help you. I'm a designer myself, but I happen to prefer a number of other designers out there for certain styles of design and happy to recommend some designers for you based on what you like. Find the right fit for you first. It's an intense experience and often a very exciting and personal journey so take your time and enjoy it all.

[+sparklefingers]

 

Well I thought I would share one of my designs. Obviously I have never designed them before so it needs tweaking but like I said I can't do it until my work picks up.

[+GoldBugGirl]

That's lovely; however, it strikes me as very similar to a design that's already been done:

I bought one of these from Cache Addict a couple of years ago. It's called Shooting Star, & I believe it was designed by StarChild313, but I could be wrong about that. I don't want to discourage you, but thought you might want to know.

[+sparklefingers]

Aw dadgum... It's similar to a tattoo I designed for myself which is one of the reason I changed it slightly and drew it especially after driving home after caching and seeing a shooting star oh well never mind aye?!

I do have another design (though it hasn't got any colour to it) and its at my "daydreaming" sketch stage)

[+sparklefingers]

 

There's this one. Which has a historical back story to it which I have posted below.

 

A folk story set in the time when smuggling was a significant industry in rural England, with Wiltshire lying on the smugglers' secret routes between the south coast and customers in the centre of the country. The story goes that some local people had hidden contraband barrels of French brandy from customs officers in a village pond. While trying to retrieve it at night, they were caught by the revenue men, but explained themselves by pointing to the moon's reflection and saying they were trying to rake in a round cheese. The excise men, thinking they were simple yokels, laughed at them and went on their way. But, as the story goes, it was the moonrakers who had the last laugh.

[+GoldBugGirl]

Love the design & story--I'll watch & hope for one of these!