Coin Relief Generator for Medals and Challenge Coins

What this workflow supports

• Plan diameter, rim clearance, thickness, and relief depth before export
• Use shallow-depth previews to judge whether portraits, crests, and emblems still read
• Prepare front and back concepts without treating the coin as a flat mockup
• Keep STL, depth map, and setup notes together for vendor or prototype review

Coin relief is a scale problem

A coin design can look clear on a monitor but fail once it is reduced to a small physical diameter. The important question is not how much detail exists; it is whether the right details remain visible at size.

• Check the design at the intended diameter before judging detail
• Give portraits, crests, and emblems stronger silhouettes than you would in a full-size render
• Leave enough rim clearance for borders, lettering, and finishing
• Avoid relying on tiny texture to carry the design

What to prepare before vendor review

Coin shops and die engravers may have different file requirements, but a useful early review package should make the concept, scale, depth, and assumptions easy to understand.

• Include the intended diameter, thickness, side count, and units
• Share STL when a reviewer needs mesh geometry
• Share a depth map when the reviewer prefers image-based depth data
• Expect final die work, lettering, and production cleanup to be vendor-specific

Where MintForged helps most

MintForged is useful before the most expensive production steps: concepting, client approval, prototype review, and relief iteration.

• Create several relief directions before committing to final art
• Catch weak borders and unreadable small details earlier
• Use setup notes to keep review conversations concrete
• Move promising concepts into specialized tooling or production workflows later

Frequently asked questions