Because every custom coin needs a die cut specifically for its artwork, and that tooling work costs the same whether the run is 10 coins or 10,000. Below roughly 50 pieces, tooling dominates the price to the point where the coin stops making sense.

It helps to see where the money goes. Making a custom coin has two kinds of cost. Fixed costs happen once per design: engraving the die, setting up the press or casting equipment, and preparing the colour separations. Variable costs happen once per coin: metal, plating, enamel fill, polishing and packing.

Variable costs behave sensibly at any quantity. Fixed costs do not. Spread across 500 coins they barely register. Spread across 10, they are most of what you would pay, and the per-coin price climbs to something few buyers would accept.

That is why minimums exist across the whole industry rather than at one supplier. A company advertising no minimum is usually either selling stock designs rather than custom ones, or quietly charging the tooling as a separate fee that appears later.

Embleholics sets the minimum at 50 coins and includes tooling in the quoted price, so there is no separate die charge on top.

See our challenge coin range, or request a free quote at your quantity.