Brief
You tell us what the venue is known for: the building, the view, the animal, the exhibit, the anniversary. A photograph and a sentence are enough to start.
The machine is the easy part. What decides whether a souvenir programme works is the coin: what is on it, how many versions exist, and whether anybody wants the second one.
We strike medals from blanks in our own facility in Poland, in diameters of 29, 32 and 38 mm and in gold-tone, bronze and copper finishes. A die cut for your venue is used only for your venue. This page covers how a coin travels from a one-sentence brief to a finished strike, what can and cannot be reproduced at each diameter, and the design decisions that separate a coin somebody buys once from a series somebody comes back for.
29 / 32 / 38 mmGold, bronze, copperTwo-sided reliefExclusive diesSeasonal seriesSample strike firstBulk and counter packsReorders from stored dies
How a Coin Is Made
Six steps. The third one is where you take control.
Artwork
Our studio draws both faces. Most designs go through two or three rounds, and we would rather take one more round than cut a die you are only lukewarm about.
Approval
You sign the artwork off in writing. Nothing is engraved or struck before that point.
Die Cutting
The die is engraved. This is the step that fixes the design permanently, which is exactly why the approval sits immediately before it.
Sample Strike
A small number of pieces are struck and sent for inspection. Relief, legibility and finish get judged on metal rather than on a screen.
Production Run
The full run is struck, counted and packed for machine loading, with counter packs in whatever proportion you asked for.
The Design Service
What our studio actually does with your brief.
Drawn, Not Traced
A photograph does not become a die. Our studio redraws the subject as relief, deciding what to keep, what to simplify and what to drop so the piece still reads at arm’s length in a collection tray.
Series Planning
We plan the programme rather than just the first coin: a base design, then seasonal or anniversary variants on a release calendar you can realistically sustain without a designer on staff.
Exclusivity
A die cut for your venue is used only for your venue. We do not resell your design to another site and your artwork does not go into a catalogue.
Packaging and Presentation
Bulk for machine loading, blister or card packaging for counter sale, and presentation folders for complete series, where the collection itself becomes the product.
Specifications
Three diameters, and what each one can carry.
29 mm
The compact format. Bold shapes and short lettering only. Right where the price point matters more than the detail and the venue wants the lowest per-unit cost.
32 mm
The standard across European venues and our default recommendation. Architectural outlines, animal profiles, a date and a line of lettering all reproduce cleanly at this size.
38 mm
The premium format. Fine linework, dense scenes, several lines of text and small heraldic detail survive here and nowhere smaller.
Finishes
Gold-tone plating as standard, with bronze and copper available. Running the regular design in gold and a limited series in copper signals scarcity without paying for a second die.
Relief and Edge
Two-sided striking with raised relief, plain or reeded edge. The reverse commonly carries the venue name, the year, or a series number.
No Denomination
The pieces carry no face value and do not resemble circulating currency, which keeps them clear of the rules on handling legal tender that apply in a number of markets.
What Makes a Design Sell
Five rules that come from watching which coins empty first.
One Recognisable Subject
The visitor buys the thing they have just been looking at. A coin showing the single building, animal or view the venue is known for outsells a composite that shows five things badly.
A Reason to Buy the Second One
A single design is one purchase per visitor, ever. A series turns a repeat visitor into a repeat customer, and that is where the volume actually comes from.
The Venue Name on the Piece
It sounds obvious and it gets forgotten. A coin without the place name is a pleasant object; a coin with it is a record of having been somewhere.
A Date or a Year
Adding the year costs nothing, turns the piece into a dated souvenir and hands you a natural reason to issue a new one twelve months later.
Legibility at Arm’s Length
It will be judged in a tray, in poor light, by somebody who is already walking towards the exit. If the subject is not readable in one second, the design is too busy.
How Many Designs a Cabinet Holds
Design capacity is the constraint people forget until the second series.
Small Coinmat
From 0.25 m²A single design or a short set. The right choice while a programme is still being tested at one entrance.
Midi Coinmat
Mid capacitySeveral designs side by side: enough for a base design plus seasonal variants without a mid-season reload.
Mini Lux
Premium finishThe full range in a display-grade cabinet, where the coins themselves are part of the presentation rather than hidden behind a panel.
Big Coinmat
High volumeThe widest design range we offer, for venues running a full series alongside limited editions.
Design Capacity and Restocking
Adding designs multiplies your restocking round: six designs in one cabinet means six hoppers that can each run dry independently. The telemetry reports each one separately, so a popular design can be topped up without touching the rest, and we size the cabinet against the number of designs you actually intend to run rather than the maximum it could hold.
Three Ways to Run a Coin Programme
From a full turnkey installation to coins alone.
Machine and Coins
The complete programme: cabinet, dies, coins and telemetry from one supplier, with one party accountable for all of it.
Revenue Share
We supply, install and service the machine and carry the coin stock; you provide the location and we split revenue on agreed terms.
Coins Only
Design, dies, striking and delivery for venues that already operate a machine and want a better source of coins. Send us the machine model and the coin dimensions it accepts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and we will tell you plainly whether it will strike well. A logo built for a screen often needs redrawing for relief; we do that work rather than striking something that disappoints you on metal.
For a first programme, one strong base design plus one seasonal variant. Launching with six splits demand across hoppers and complicates restocking before you have any idea what sells.
The artwork is produced for you and the die is used only for your venue. Where you supplied the source material, it stays yours throughout.
Yes. A new die is a modest cost and a short lead time, which is exactly what makes an annual or seasonal series practical rather than aspirational.
It follows your footfall, not a warehouse minimum. We size the first run against your visitor numbers so that you are not storing two years of stock in a back office.
Often, yes. Send us the machine’s make and the coin dimensions it accepts, and we will confirm whether our blanks fit before you commit to anything.
Start With a Design Proposal
Send us a photograph of what your venue is known for and your annual visitor numbers. We will come back with a design direction, a recommended diameter and a first-run quantity — at no cost and with no obligation.
