A custom shape built around Navy design elements and the theme of the celebration. The front highlights the numerals in distinctive color combinations with a three dimensional anchor running down the center. The back carries additional text and features across a grainy textured surface. This 100 year challenge coin was made for the Chief of Navy Reserve to mark the Navy Reserve’s centennial, and it went to senior officials, celebration participants and others the Admiral chose.
Designing a Centennial Coin
A hundred year anniversary is the one occasion where an organization will accept a more elaborate coin than it normally would, and the reasons are worth using.
It happens once. There is no next version to stay consistent with and no die to reuse for years, which frees the design from the restraint a standing issue coin needs.
The number is the design. A centenary coin has a built in central element that no other coin has. Three digits, instantly understood, with enough visual weight to carry a face on their own.
The recipients are senior. Anniversary coins go to flag officers, officials and guests rather than being issued down through an organization, so the audience expects something ceremonial.
And it becomes a historical object immediately. People keep centennial pieces specifically because they are dated, which inverts the usual advice about leaving dates off.
See also a 220th anniversary lodge coin and a ship anniversary challenge coin.
Running an Element Through the Numerals
Putting a three dimensional anchor down the center of the 100 is the idea that makes this coin work, and the device generalizes.
A large number on a coin face is visually strong and semantically thin. It says how long and nothing else. Running an organizational symbol through it ties the duration to the organization in a single image, so the face says a hundred years of this rather than just a hundred years.
The anchor is particularly well suited because of its shape. It is a vertical element with a crossbar, roughly the proportion of a digit, which means it can occupy the position of one of the zeros or stand between them without distorting either the number or the symbol. Not every emblem does that; a wide circular crest would have to sit beside the numerals rather than within them.
The execution note is legibility. The number has to remain readable as a number after the symbol is integrated. If a viewer has to work out whether it says 100, the idea has cost more than it delivered, which is a judgment to make on the proof rather than in the concept.
A Grainy Texture on the Reverse
Texturing a whole face is an underused option and it solves the empty back problem better than adding content does.
It fills space without adding information. A reverse carrying only text looks sparse on a bare metal field. A textured ground gives the eye something to read without introducing another element to compete with the words.
It makes lettering stand out. Smooth raised text on a grainy field separates far more strongly than the same text on a polished surface, because the contrast is in surface quality as well as in height.
And it handles well. A matte, irregular surface hides fingerprints and small scratches that a bright face would show.
Textures can be raised or recessed, and the two behave differently. A recessed texture keeps the original surface as the high points, so raised elements sit above a stippled ground. A raised texture makes the pattern itself the high surface, which produces a rougher feel in the hand. Deciding which before the die is cut matters, since the two look similar in a rendering and distinctly different in metal.
See texture and finish options.
The Navy Reserve Centennial
The Navy Reserve was established in 1915 and its centennial fell in 2015, which is the occasion this coin marks. The Chief of Navy Reserve is a three star officer who commands the force, and a coin issued at that level is presented rather than distributed.
A reserve component’s centenary carries something a regular force anniversary does not. Reservists serve alongside civilian careers, and a hundred years of that is a hundred years of people leaving jobs and families to mobilize. An anniversary coin for a reserve force is marking a particular kind of commitment rather than simply institutional longevity.
The distribution pattern also follows from the occasion. Recipients included senior officials and participants in the celebration itself rather than the force at large, which is typical for a centennial piece and is why these coins are produced in smaller, higher specification runs.
See also Navy challenge coins.
Order an Anniversary or Centennial Coin
Professional artwork is free with unlimited revisions, and nothing goes into production until you approve a digital proof. The challenge coin minimum is 50 pieces, standard production runs about 45 to 50 days after final artwork approval, rush production is available on many projects, and shipping within the continental United States is included. Embleholics is veteran-owned, SDVOSB and registered in SAM.gov.
Two suggestions for an anniversary piece. Start well before the date, because production runs about 45 to 50 days after artwork approval and an anniversary does not move. And if an emblem is being integrated into the numerals, check on the proof that the number still reads instantly, since a clever combination that has to be decoded costs more than it gives. Request a free quote to begin.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a centennial coin different?
It happens once, so there is no next version to stay consistent with. That frees the design to be more elaborate than a standing issue coin, and the number itself gives the face a strong central element.
Should an anniversary coin carry the date?
Yes. People keep centennial pieces precisely because they are dated, which inverts the usual advice about leaving dates off a coin meant to be issued for years.
How do you combine a symbol with a large number?
Run the symbol through the numerals so the face says a hundred years of this rather than just a hundred years. Vertical emblems with a crossbar work best, since they match a digit’s proportion.
What is the risk of integrating a symbol into numerals?
Legibility. If a viewer has to work out what the number says, the idea has cost more than it delivered, which is a judgment to make on the proof.
Why texture an entire face?
It fills space without adding information, which solves the problem of a reverse that carries only text. It also makes smooth lettering separate strongly and hides handling marks.
What is the difference between raised and recessed texture?
A recessed texture keeps the original surface as the high points, so elements sit above a stippled ground. A raised texture makes the pattern the high surface, which feels rougher in the hand.
Who receives a centennial coin?
Usually senior officials, guests and participants in the anniversary event rather than the whole organization, which is why these are smaller, higher specification runs.
How far ahead should an anniversary coin be ordered?
Well before the date. Production runs about 45 to 50 days after final artwork approval, and the artwork and approval stages come before that.
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