One of the things I love most about my job as a challenge coin designer is the fact that I get to see a lot of creative artwork. I am also fortunate enough to see much of that artwork go from conception stage, through the design phase and into reality. The simple fact of the matter is we have some very creative individuals serving in the United States military. Some of the designs they come up with can be accomplished and others not so much.

Little did he know that the same coin would act like a ‘savior’ to his life. Much later he was captured by the Germans and the only thing he could save was the little challenge coins custom coin that still hang around his neck. He managed to escape but was later captured by the French who mistook him for an alien. As they were about to execute him he showed them the coin to prove is originality. He was released and he went back home to narrate his experience and that is how the challenge coined obtained its name.

Interest: Sometimes a coin will be amplified in price because of some increase in popularity that boosts the demand. For instance, there are many coins from shipwrecks but if we found a coin from the Titanic it would sell for a premium due to the legend surrounding the story of the Titanic.

Let’s take a minute to look over some other negative points, ‘variety’ there isn’t much, apart from the staples like ‘fire flower’ and ‘super mushroom’ there isn’t really a lot of new items, the ‘mini mushroom’ and ‘mega mushroom’ make a welcome return but are hardly used. The only new addition to the roster of power-ups worth mentioning is the ‘golden fire flower’ which turns Mario into a Midas/Terminator hybrid, smashing bricks and bad guys all over the show, very cool indeed. But apart from that it’s business as usual with the controls being as tight as always and the charm factor cranked up to 11. Oh and I should really mention the coins, everybody likes coins right? Well you’d better, because you’ll be collecting a whole lot of them! One million to be exact.

When you collect by type, you can buy beautiful examples of the more common coins of the type of coin you’re collecting. Series collecting almost demands that you have every piece in the series to call the collection complete.

You should only handle coins by the edges. Never touch the flat surfaces of your custom coins cheap with your fingers. Even clean fingers can transfer dirt or grit to the surface and cause damage. Always remember to keep your coins over the soft surface you have prepared and hold the coin in between your thumb and first finger. Try to avoid breathing directly on the coins. The moisture from your breath can cause discoloration on the surface of the coins.

The second way is to be involved in buying and selling coins. This may require a substantial amount to begin with but it’s a more direct way of earning profits. An individual may make an offer to buy a piece of old coin for less and sell it at a much higher price. But before entering this type of business, one must arm himself knowledge about coins so as not to be take advantage of by other buy and sell traders.

Wear on coins will first appear on the high points of the coin. Grading coins involves being able to distinguish this wear. You will be able to see visible wear even with the naked eye in these areas first. Sometimes the high points will become worn faster if the coin was struck on a worn die. This will also affect the value of the coin.