Cutting a piece to the outline of a state is one of the most effective shapes available, and this buckle is an unusually complete example of it. Made in honor of the battleship USS Iowa (BB-61), it is cut to the border of the state of Iowa, carries elements of the Iowa state flag, and has the state motto engraved across the face. Ship, state and symbol all line up, which does not happen often.
Not every state works as a shape
The test is whether people recognize the outline without any help, and states vary enormously.
The ones that always work are the states with a distinctive profile: Texas, Florida, California, Michigan, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alaska. These read at a glance, at small size, with no color and no lettering. If your state is on this list, the shape alone carries the piece.
The ones that work with help are the rectangular and near-rectangular states: Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Iowa and most of the upper Midwest. Cut plain, a rectangle with slightly irregular edges is not obviously anything. These need a second cue, and the Iowa buckle supplies two: the state flag elements and the motto. Together they make the outline unmistakable, and the shape stops being a guess.
The ones to avoid as outlines are the small and irregular New England states, which either become unrecognizable at buckle or coin size or need to be enlarged beyond a sensible dimension. Better to put the state on a conventional shape than to cut to it.
A useful rule: if you have to tell someone what state it is, the shape is not doing its job, and you should either add a supporting cue or choose a different outline.
Shape, flag and motto working together
Layering three state references is more effective than any one of them alone, and it is why this buckle works despite a difficult outline. The silhouette gives the shape, the flag elements give the color and the heraldry, and the motto gives the words. Each one reinforces the others, so a viewer who does not recognize the outline gets there from the flag, and one who does not know the flag gets there from the motto.
State flags are generally free to reproduce, which makes them useful source material, though a few states have specific usage statutes worth a check if the piece is being sold rather than given. State mottoes are similarly open.
The restraint to use flag elements rather than the whole flag matters. Reproducing an entire state flag on a buckle usually means shrinking its detail past the point of legibility. Taking the two or three strongest devices from it and giving them room works better, and it leaves space for the thing the piece is actually about.
Buckles are not large coins
Several things change when a design moves from a coin to a belt buckle, and the brief should change with them.
- Viewing distance. A coin is read in the palm at arm’s length or closer. A buckle is read across a room. That argues for bolder shapes, heavier relief and less fine detail, not simply the same artwork scaled up.
- It is worn, so it gets knocked. A buckle meets door frames, desk edges and car doors constantly. Raised extremities take more punishment than they would on a coin, so edges need to be rounded and projections kept within the body of the shape.
- The back is functional. A buckle needs a belt loop and hook sized to a standard belt width, and that hardware has to be designed in rather than attached afterwards. Tell us the belt width you are making it for.
- Minimum order quantities are set separately from coins. Buckles are quoted on their own terms and the minimum is not the same as the 50-coin minimum. Ask when you enquire rather than assuming.
USS Iowa
USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of the Iowa-class battleships, built at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned on 22 February 1943. In November 1943 she carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic on the first leg of his journey to the Cairo and Tehran conferences, where he met Churchill and Stalin, and she is nicknamed the Battleship of Presidents. She went on to serve in the Pacific through 1944, taking part in the Marianas, Palau and Leyte campaigns and in the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf.
She is now a museum ship. Iowa was donated to the Pacific Battleship Center in April 2012 and opened to the public at the Port of Los Angeles in July 2012. That matters for anyone ordering a piece like this one: ships’ veterans associations, museum volunteers and reunion groups are among the most common customers for commemorative buckles and coins, and their needs differ from a serving command’s. They are usually ordering small quantities, for an aging membership, with no reorder planned.
Ordering a state shaped piece
Tell us the state and whether it is going on a coin or a buckle, and we will tell you straight away whether the outline will carry it. If it will not, we will suggest what to add or propose a conventional shape with the state as artwork. If you are ordering a buckle, send the belt width along with the artwork. You can see more of our buckle work, including the USS John C. Stennis buckle and the VFA-102 buckle, or send your details through the free quote form.
Finished Buckle (Front)
Finished Buckle (Back)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a challenge coin or belt buckle be cut to the shape of a state?
Yes, and it is one of the more effective custom shapes, but it depends heavily on which state. Distinctive outlines such as Texas, Florida, California, Michigan, Louisiana and Alaska read instantly at small size with no color or text. Rectangular states need a supporting cue such as flag elements or a motto, and small irregular states are usually better placed as artwork on a conventional shape.
How do you make a rectangular state recognizable?
Give it a second and third cue. The Iowa buckle combines the state outline with elements of the state flag and the state motto, so a viewer who does not recognize the border arrives at the answer from the flag or the words. Layering references is what makes a difficult outline work.
Can we use our state flag on a coin or buckle?
Generally yes, as state flags and mottoes are open to reproduction, though a few states have usage statutes worth checking if the piece is being sold rather than given away. In design terms, using two or three of the flag’s strongest devices works better than reproducing the whole flag, which usually has to be shrunk past legibility.
Is a belt buckle just a bigger challenge coin?
No. A buckle is read across a room rather than in the palm, so it wants bolder shapes and heavier relief rather than the same artwork enlarged. It is also worn, so it gets knocked against doors and desks and needs rounded edges and no exposed projections. And the back has to carry a belt loop and hook sized to a specific belt width, which is designed in rather than added on.
Do belt buckles have the same minimum order as coins?
No. Buckles are quoted separately from coins and their minimum order is set on its own terms rather than matching the 50-coin minimum. Ask when you enquire so the quantity is clear before you plan around it.
What was USS Iowa?
USS Iowa (BB-61) was the lead ship of the Iowa-class battleships, built at the New York Navy Yard and commissioned on 22 February 1943. She carried President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the Atlantic in November 1943 en route to the Cairo and Tehran conferences, served through the Pacific campaigns of 1944, and is nicknamed the Battleship of Presidents. She has been a museum ship at the Port of Los Angeles since 2012.
Do you work with ships’ veterans associations and museums?
Regularly, and their orders tend to look different from a serving command’s. Quantities are smaller, the membership is often aging, and there is usually no reorder planned, which argues for ordering the full run at once and for a design with no dates on the die so a reorder remains possible if the group grows.
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