Custom Medals

Custom Medals are a great way of providing a special customised Recognition piece that has a unique connection to the organisation. A custom made medallion is a keepsake that has a tangible special value and is usually a coveted keepsake. I have a 2005 City to Surf Medallion that is a prized memento of a personal achievement. (Even though the win ners were probably showered and had lunch by the time I arrived at the Bondi finish line.)

Premier Awards have a strong reputation for reliable quality custom made medallions and with our many years’ experience we can cater for small and huge orders with guaranteed satisfaction. We only make high quality products as we are committed to a reputation of reliable quality workmanship. We are good at providing our customers with the right advice and options to make sure you get the right medallion for your requirements.

Medallions have initial set up costs and then per unit they are very reasonably priced and make a handsome citation or memento of achievement. Let’s go through some details of custom medal making.

The classic size for a medallion is 50mm diameter x 3mm thick. They can be any size though. The bigger and thicker they are the more expensive they become due to metal volume and finishing. A 60mm x 4 or 5mm medallion is quite a substantial medal. Medallions can have a loop at the top for a neck ribbon or they can be made with no loop and presented as a coin in or out of a presentation box. Either way they usually have a custom detailed front surface and an area at the back for individual engraving.

There are two specific types of custom medals. There is a Stamped type where a die is made and the die is slammed into brass or iron creating the impression. This is how money coins are made. Generally speaking this type of medal is a little heavier and is sharper in detail. It has a higher quality feel to it. The other type of medal is a cast medal made by making a master medal and creating a silicone mould. Hot liquid alloy is poured into the mould to form the medallion. These medallions are a little lighter than a stamped medal and potentially not as sharply defined as the stamped style. Having said that cast medallions today are very sharp in detail so there is not a huge difference really. Both Stamped and cast medals produced by Premier Awards are exceptional quality.

Medallion finishes are done by plating in Brass, Nickel or copper. Brass for gold, Nickel for silver and Copper for bronze. The gold, silver or bronze can be finished in shiny, matt or antique look. Antique is achieved using a black wash and buffing off leaving remnants in crevices. There are also finishing colour variants such as black nickel which is blackish and pretty cool looking. After plating colour fill can be added if desired. One thing to consider when using the shiny finish is that it does not offer great contrast and some medal designs may be hard to see particularly in the cast style. So to bring out the contrast of cast medals we often use a textured background which helps define the embossed image. For stamped medals this can also be done however stamped metal reacts really well to a sandblasted background and raised shiny image. The sandblasted background gives a bright frosted look and sets of the embossed shiny surface beautifully.

Things to consider when ordering custom medals

First thing is to check the time frame required. Ideally we need 3-6 weeks to produce. Inside 3 weeks is very difficult and will lead to rush cost and no guarantee as we are dealing with overseas shipping.

Second is the size of the medal. The vast majority of medals made are 50mm x 3mm however other sizes and thicknesses are available. The finish is next – will it be shiny, mat or antique. And would colour fill be required.

Now let’s consider how it will be presented. Medallions can be designed to have a ribbon (which can be customised) or be presented in a presentation box, Or perhaps both ribbon and presentation box.

From Participation to Olympic champion we can make the ideal medal for the occasion at hand and we pride ourselves on the best quality workmanship and very reliable service.