A Smart Coin® is a custom 2" solid brass challenge coin with an embedded NFC NTAG 424 DNA microchip. When someone taps the coin with their smartphone, it instantly opens a webpage — donation page, video, website, or campaign link.

It’s a physical keepsake that triggers digital action.

The NFC chip is embedded inside the coin and sealed under a 4-color printed insert with clear epoxy.
Anyone with a modern smartphone simply taps the back of the coin and the programmed link opens automatically.

No app required. No batteries. No charging.

Most challenge coins are purely commemorative.
A Smart Coin® does something.

It connects every coin holder to a digital experience when any NFC enabled smartphone is tapped to the coin.

Yes. We use the NTAG 424 DNA chip, one of the most secure NFC chips available. It supports encrypted communication and advanced security features.

Absolutely.

Each coin is custom designed in high-relief 3D metal.
Front side: Raised 3D detail from your artwork or concept.
Back side: Embedded NFC chip with a custom printed insert sealed under epoxy.

You approve the final artwork before production.

Yes we cam mint pretty much any design you like. The color fill process is based on if the coin is 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional for hard or soft enamel. Common lapel pin sizes are .5” .75” 1” 1.25” and 1.5” Other sizes are available based on design.

100 is always the minimum.

Yes! Both 100% embroidered with hot knife or merrowed edge or PVC rubber patches.

Backings offered are no backing, heat seal backs or velcro

PVC patches require a mold fee plus a minimum order of 100 patches.

Most 3”-4” embroidered patches are $3.45 each - $4.60 each.

Standard size is 2" in diameter and approximately 3.5–4mm thick.
We can produce larger sizes if needed.

Minimum order is 100 coins for new orders or reorders.

Item At the 100-coin level:

• $345 one-time die fee

• $13 per coin

• Nonprofits receive a $3 per coin discount

Shipping is weight-based (100 coins ≈ 10 lbs).description

Artwork approval: Typically 3–5 days

Production time: Approximately 30-45 days for regular challenge coins and 45-60 days for Smart Coin®, after final approval and payment.

Gray Water Ops® holds the patent for custom minted coins with an embedded microchip.

Gray Water Ops® is a veteran-owned company founded by artist Keith Hanshaw and William Zutell. With over 30 years of challenge coin design experience, Keith developed Smart Coin® as a way to merge physical craftsmanship with digital technology. He’s designed coins for the president of NASCAR, Anheuser-Busch, every branch of the US military, local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, businesses , clubs, and organizations.

Yes. Artist Keith Hanshaw has been designing custom challenge coins for Air Force units all over the world, since 1995.

Yes. Artist Keith Hanshaw has been designing custom challenge coins for Army units all over the world, since 1995. Between 1990 - 2004 he worked on a joint Army / Air Guard program at Fort Indiantown Gap. During that time he designed coins for different military organizations he was working with.

Yes for a small fee, you can have your coins individually numbered or laser engraved on the thin 3.5mm side of the coin. Up to 20 spaces adds .60 to your per coin price. For reference, if you take almost anything to a local engraver, they will charge you $5-$10 to engrave them. Have it done during production and it’s only .60!

We’re a designer and manufacture of bulk custom challenge coins, lapel pins or small metal items. We do not sell or give out our customer’s coins.

We do have an online store with things like aircraft lapel pins, Security Forces or Firefighter pins and a limited supply of coins from previous fundraisers we’ve run. Click Online Store in the menu!

Artist Keith Hanshaw has been designing coins for his customers for free since 1995. The ability to take an organizations idea and vision and turn that into a coin that’s handed out with pride is an honor. His goal is to make each coin have it’s own unique look.

As long as Gray Water Ops is minting your coins, there’s no fee for standard art. Complex requests may require an art fee but 95% of the orders we design don’t have a fee.

Yes, Keith has been designing challenge coins for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies since 1995.

We design custom coins, custom challenge coins, or custom Smart Coin(R) for bulk orders of 100 pieces or more. Each challenge coin is packaged in a vinyl poly bag with a printed insert in one pocket and the coin in the other.

Zinc alloy is a lighter, cheaper metal that makes your coins feel light, thin and unimpressive in the hand. When dropped on a table, it has a distinct higher pitched twang when compared to a solid brass challenge coin.

Why new technology allows robots to paint on a larger volume, most challenge coins are still painted by hand. On a challenge coin, there are raised metal surfaces and recessed surfaces. Think of the coin like a coloring book. Any place you want color on the coin, you must have a raised metal wall to contain the paint. A liquid enamel is used. A syringe is filled with the color being applied. The tip of the needle is placed into the well and a small amount of liquid enamel is squirted into that well.

When all the colors have been filled, a soft cloth is used to remove any excess paint that may have been still been on a raised surface.

When someone who carries a special coin associating them with an organization, pulls out their challenge coin in a group of friends, and slams it on the table or bar (or taps it on the table or bar) they are issuing a “challenge” to the others in the group the he or she works with. As a member of the organization, you are required to always have your coin on you to show your allegiance and support. If another one of your team members challenges you, you have 60 seconds to produce YOUR coin or you’re buying your team member a drink! IF you meet the challenge and produce your coin, he has to buy you a drink. That’s where it started in the US military. A drinking game. Now you know!

The Challenge Coin Challenge app is a new social app just for coin carrying members. Each challenge coin tells a story and has strong emotional connection between the the person who carries it and the bigger organization that they’re part of. They’re about belonging. This new app is building a challenge coin database that will allow those who carry, to contribute their coins and the story behind it. The app has a browse page which is the feed of all of the new challenge coins added to the database. On any coin image, you can tap it to open up a front and back image of the coin along with any metadata the uploader included. It’s a way to get a behind the scenes look at the story behind the challenge coins. You can like or comment on coins and challenge up to 3 per day, against one of the coins from your own display. The next tab is your my-coins page that shows any of your own challenge coins that you’ve added to your digital display. Imagine carrying all of your challenge coins with you digitally? The Challenge page is all the live 24 hour challenges between 2 different coins. Simple concept. Vote for the one you like best. The top of the browse page also has your top 10 coins liked. scroll through and open any coin to see the data and images. A cool feature I really like is if you like a coin on the browse page, you can click the person icon in the top right corner and go see all of the challenge coins in their own displays! Show off your challenge coins to anyone! The next tab is the scan-coin tab where you can add your own coins to your digital coin display. The last tab is your account page that shows if you’re a free member just browsing and liking coins or if you have a collector’s Pass to show off your own coins and challenge others!