Back in 2016, I posted an article about my obsession with adding metal coins to board games, which you can read here:
Board Games and Metal Coins, An Obsession
What started as a diversion became an obsession, and since that article bloomed into a full-on compulsion. I’ve upgraded over 60 games with unique metal coins and currency, and I’d like to share the current state of this compulsion and what I’ve learned along the way. Since it’s technically an update, much of this article may be redundant, but I’m including a bunch of new coin sets and a whole slew of pretty new pictures.
You may have seen my previous posts about game upgrades, including my tutorials on replicating those upgrades. I’ve been enamored with “Deluxe” and “Collector’s” editions of games for a long time. My first exposure to a wildly over-produced special edition was the Catan Anniversary Edition, but my first experience with metal coins in a game was our copy of the SmallWorld Designer Edition. Dear god, these coins. They’re are, to this day, some of the best fake coins I’ve ever seen, and they kicked off a near-addictive obsession with adding that same delicious, clinky aesthetic to as many board games as I could.
It’s such a strange thing, because metal coinage is a purely aesthetic upgrade. They don’t change game mechanics or offer any extension to the gameplay experience. Even so, deluxe editions have proven there’s a market for aesthetic upgrades, and metal coins have grown into one of the most popular. I won’t deny it: there have been Kickstarters I’ve nearly backed solely for the metal coins. Most of the time, clearer heads prevail, but if I’m on the fence, the inclusion of metal coins will tip me over the edge.
I have fallen down the rabbit hole of adding unique, thematic coins for each individual game. This approach is not for everyone. I have the means and the inclination, and it’s a fun hobby for me. Unique metal coins are not a necessity, though! If you’re interested in adding generic coins you can keep aside and use for multiple games, I’ll talk about what sets I think are the best for that purpose at the end of this article.
For now, let’s get on with the show! Click on any image to see a high-res version of it!
NOTE: There is no way this will be an exhaustive list of all the metal coins available. I’ll talk about coins I have direct personal experience with, as well as make notes of other coins I don’t have and why I don’t have them. There will likely be a lot of coins not included here, and I encourage you to add your own experiences and pictures in the comments.
BESPOKE COINS AND GAMES INCLUDING METAL COINS
I’ve combined these two categories because, in many cases, coins included with a deluxe edition are purchasable as an add-on, and it just makes sense since those coins are designed specifically with one game in mind (which is what I mean by using the term “bespoke”).
A note on pictures: A few of these coin sets came with games I no longer own, and the coins exited my collection along with the games. Even though I took all new photographs for this article, some of those games will have photos that don’t match the look and style of the new ones, because they were taken before I sold the games.
7 Wonders
7 Wonders is a bonafide classic, a staple of modern games. It’s fitting it should have awesome bespoke metal coins, and this game actually has two completely different sets! Repos Productions makes a set, but my coins are from The Broken Token, and they do not disappoint. They’re heavy, well designed, large, and perfectly thematic.
The only problem? They’re pretty expensive. Right now, they’re available for $35 for 57 coins, which puts them over 60¢ per coin. That’s the very upper limit of what I’m willing to spend (most of the time). Still, we really wanted perfectly thematic coins, so we bought enough to fill out 7 Wonders proper and 7 Wonders Duel.
But what happens when you decide not to keep a game you’ve upgraded with metal coins? Many secondary market buyers aren’t interested in paying extra money for coins, and when they’re this thematically linked to a game, it’s hard to find somewhere to put them. It took a long time for us to find games to house these coins.
Spirit Island
Spirit Island was the first. The 1’s and 3’s are a near perfect thematic match for the game’s Energy Tokens. We threw a few of the 6’s in the mix, too, just because we had them.
But this game didn’t need enough to take all the coins…
Queendomino
It wasn’t until we picked up Queendomino we found a home for the rest. The coins split perfectly between the two games, and Queendomino’s theme and denominations were a great match. Yeah, the largest coins are 9’s rather than 6’s, but it hasn’t hindered our play at all.
Architects of the West Kingdom
Wow, these are nice little coins. They’re about the size of a quarter and evoke the feel of 13th or 14th century Europe, but with just a little bit of a cartoony edge, perfectly matching the graphic design of Architects. My only disappointment is they weren’t included with Architects like the metal coins from Raiders of the North Sea, but they’re still a relatively inexpensive upgrade at $15 for 50 coins. And they’re “historical Europe” enough to match the theming on a LOT of games.
Black Fleet
Opening up Black Fleet and finding metal coins inside was a genuine surprise. For such a light pick-up-and-deliver game, the components are absolutely off the charts. The included coins aren’t as chunky and heavy as some of the others in this article, but for a $30 game to have metal coins at all is a miracle. The problem, now, is Black Fleet seems to be out of stock everywhere. Second-hand copies can be picked up fairly cheap, and even if you don’t like a simple pick-up-and-deliver game, the 20ish bucks for a used copy might be worth it for the coins alone.
Brass Deluxe Edition (1st Edition)
The original Brass Deluxe from Eagle Gryphon Games wasn’t the greatest production in the world – and pales in comparison to the new versions – but it did produce some pretty solid metal coins. They’re way heavier than I expected them to be. The finish on them can be a little spotty, but for the most part they’re very nice, very generic coins.
EGG has gone on to sell them independently, marketing them for Lisboa. They’re a fantastic deal, too, at 100 coins for $30. My only gripe is the amounts of each denomination are a little strange: 40 “1”s, 60 “5”s, and 10 “10”s. It’s always a tad awkward to have way more of the middle denomination than the lower, and has resulted in me having a bunch of extra 5’s.
These coins found homes in two games:
Mombasa
A perfect thematic match considering the game is about 18th century British colonization of Africa.
Nurnburg
Sure they’re not really Germanic looking, but they’re generic enough to fit pretty well with any of the ubiquitous historical-western-Europe games.
With the new editions of Brass, Roxley games developed lovely poker-chip currency they’ve dubbed “Iron Clays”. They are a fantastic design, but they’re also some of the most expensive poker chips you’ll buy. For a single box, for a single game, they’re not a terrible value, but when I’m used to poker chips costing around 5-15 cents per chip, paying 35 cents per chip is a little rough.
It’s still well within reason for metal currency – and around the price you’d pay for the Brass coins or even coins from Artana or Fantasy Coin (which I discuss later), so for me it really is just a mental block. I just need to file Iron Clays into the same basket in my brain as coins rather than chips.
Carson City
Here’s a perfect example of me flat over-spending for coins. I’ve done it three times. Every single time it’s been at The Broken Token, and every time a bespoke set for a specific game (7 Wonders and Lords of Waterdeep being the other two). The Broken Token’s Carson City coins are, frankly, amazing. They’re perfect metal representations of the cardboard chits from the game. They look nice, feel awesome, and sound great.
And they’re too damned expensive. They’re one of the few sets of coins I feel a little bit of buyer’s remorse over. At over 75¢ per coin, they’re exorbitantly priced, and no matter how much I like them, I just cannot recommend them.
But wow, I really do like them.
Century: Spice Road
The coins in Century: Spice Road are great. They’re not used for much – they’re over-produced secondary victory-point chits – but they’re an awesome addition to a beautiful game, and I’m glad they were included. They’re each between the size of a nickel and a quarter with a great design and finish. And they’re included in the cost of a relatively inexpensive game. Win/win.
Charterstone
I’ll admit, I don’t own a copy of Charterstone. It’s just not the type of game my wife and I would enjoy. But you’re damned right I bought a set of the metal coins, because I really, really, really like them. They’re a great option for any game with a single coin denomination. In our collection, they would go well in Alchemists, Village, Lancaster, Russian Railroads, or Ulm. In our case, though, we chose to add them to…
Villages of Valeria
Clans of Caledonia
I was a bit surprised to find a small company like Karma Games decided to make bespoke metal coins for their little-economic-Euro-that-could. The coins are fine! They’re not the best coins I’ve seen, but certainly not the worst by any measure. They’re perfectly thematic, which is great, and is one of the less expensive bespoke sets out there at roughly $29 (depending on retailer) for 70 coins.
CO2: Second Chance
They’re great! What can I say, other than I really like the coins. They’re not the heaviest coins in the world, but the different coins range in size from roughly the size of a penny to a little bigger than quarter. The finish is nice – technically a modern, “shiny” finish, but with a sort of pebbling to dampen their reflectiveness, which makes them easier to differentiate. They’re very, VERY tied to CO2 and thus not really usable outside the game, but for CO2 specifically they’re absolutely fantastic.
My only problem with them: There are 4 denominations (1, 2, 5, and 10), but only 3 colors, so the 2s and 5s are both silver, and thus a bit hard to tell apart at a distance. I think it’s a pretty major design error, making it easy to get the wrong change or pick up the wrong coin, and being suddenly ahead or behind by 3 money might be a problem for gameplay.
Since I know about it I don’t expect it to be a major issue, and otherwise these coins are fantastic.
Dinosaur/Duelosaur Island
The “X-Treme Edition” of Dinosaur Island came with a pretty awesome set of metal coins. They’re one of the few painted sets on the market (rather than just finished), adding to the over-the-top neon 90’s theme of Dinosaur Island. They’re in roughly the same quality camp as Stonemaier’s coins for Viticulture and Scythe – which is to say they’re pretty nice.
Apparently the first edition of Dinosaur Island XE came with much thicker, heavier metal coins, and people complained. Which, honestly, baffles me. I’ve never seen them in person, but being a metal coin nut I’d love to get my hands on a set of the heavier version. If you’re one of those folks who has those coins and doesn’t like them, hit me up and I’ll trade you for the new ones.
It looks like the X-Treme Edition was a Kickstarter exclusive, which is a real shame, but there are used copies floating around.
The Flow of History Deluxified
Like many of Tasty Minstrel’s “Deluxified” games, this version was only available as a Kickstarter exclusive. And I gotta admit: I was disappointed in the metal resource tokens when I got the game in the mail, for two reasons:
One, they’re almost too tied to the game, and actually say “One Resource Token” and “1RT” on the faces of the coins. Don’t get me wrong – I’m never going to fault a company for making metal coins or tokens specifically designed only for their game just like any other component, but I always like to see coins which can be used outside their source material. Count this as a very minor gripe. It’s really not the crux of my dislike.
My main issue is they’re just way too small. At their tiny size, there is very little difference between these metal tokens and cardboard or wooden chits. Making them out of metal was, I’m sure, great for the marketing of the Deluxified edition, but basically meaningless from an aesthetic standpoint.
Lords of Waterdeep
Here’s one of my other cases of overspending. Especially at these coins’ original price. Don’t get me wrong: These are fantastic coins and, at the time, were the only coins in existence to mimic the unique shapes of the coins from Lords of Waterdeep. But when I bought them (over three years ago), they were $60 for 60 coins. Looking back, I… vomit in my mouth a little bit.
I had a ton of bias pressing me into that decision. LoW was my favorite game at the time, and arguably the game which sent me spiraling into my current gaming obsession. But spending $1 a coin for an upgrade is nuckin’ futs, and I highly suggest you don’t do it. Even now, the BT coins for LoW are $45 for 60 (or 75¢ per coin), which is still just too damned expensive, even if the coins are great.
And ESPECIALLY because Fantasy Coin makes their own set of Lords of Waterdeep coins for significantly cheaper – about $30 for a full set of 60. Still on the slightly spendy side overall, but a WAY better deal than the BT coins. Fantasy Coin can be an… interesting company to try to order from, but I’ll get into more detail in their section below.
Montana: Heritage Edition
The coins in Montana: Heritage Edition are fairly specifically themed, designed to evoke old, worn United States currency. For the old-west theme of Montana, they’re fantastic. They’re good quality coins, too, with a great weight and size. These coins are also a perfect thematic match for Great Western Trail (although I have another solution for GWT, detailed later).
Unfortunately, it seems like the only way to get these metal coins would’ve been as an add-on to the Heritage Edition on Kickstarter or IndieGoGo. Hopefully Big Kid Games will make them available separately at some point.
Orleans Deluxe Edition
The coins in the Orleans Deluxe edition are nice, if a little bland. They look exactly like their cardboard counterparts, but they’re just a touch light and have an odd sound to them. I know it seems super picky to complain about the sound of metal coins included with a board game, but let’s be real here: this is an entire article about metal coins for board games, so let’s not go down that rabbit hole, mmkay?
Puerto Rico
Back when I still had a copy of Puerto Rico, I really wanted the Anniversary Edition, but I wasn’t willing to spend the $300+ to get it. When we started replacing all of our coins, this was one of the first games I looked for. There are a TON of “pirate dubloon” style coins out there (even some mentioned later in this article).
I was genuinely surprised to run across a set of coins made very specifically for Puerto Rico, by a third-party. I was even more surprised by the price – only around $27 USD for 70 coins. To top it all off, I was – and still am – absolutely floored by the quality. Unfortunately, it looks like these coins are no longer available.
These are some of the largest, heaviest, nicest looking and feeling coins in my collection. They’re made of pewter, so they have a bit of a different feel and sound than most of the other coins you’ll find, but their weight and quality were absolutely worth the price.
After selling our copy of Puerto Rico, we dropped these coins into our copy of…
Champions of Midgard
They’re obviously not thematically appropriate, but the design is muddy enough for them to pass as Viking-ish, if you squint and don’t look directly at them.
Raiders of the North Sea
Oooh, boy do I like these coins. Raiders is one of my favorite worker placement games of the last few years, and thematic metal coins being included in the base game is just phenomenal. As far as I can find they’re not available on their own, but it’s fine because they’re so thematically linked to Raiders they’d have limited use outside of it. They’re really nice, though.
Roll Player
These coins sort of snuck up on me. I didn’t even know Thunderworks Games had made bespoke coins for Roll Player until I saw someone post online that they were having a big Black Friday sale last year. At half off on sale, these coins were only $12.50 for 60 coins, and that was just way too good a deal for me to pass up.
And you know what? They’re great! Deep relief, nice size, good weight, and a great, generic high-fantasy design means they’re not only awesome for Roll Player, but can go in a ton of other games. Since I don’t actually own Roll Player, my set went into my copy of…
Lords of Xidit
…and they’re perfect there!
Here’s the catch: When they’re not on sale, the coins are $25 for 60 coins, putting them at about 41¢ per coin. That’s at the top end of what I normally like to spend, and I’m not entirely sure I can recommend these coins at that price, with so many awesome options available in the 30-ish cents per coin range.
I 100% recommend them if you own Roll Player. That slight price bump is worth it for bespoke coins. For other games, though, I’d wait until they’re on sale again.
Scythe
Scythe has some of the best metal coins ever made for a game. They’re an interesting thematic choice, too, with each denomination representing one of the country-factions in the game. They’re not thematic to a specific place as much as they are to the game as a whole, which makes them so thematic they’re almost generic.
Which, in truth, is kind of awesome. They’re great looking coins and could easily be used as a generic set for just about any game with the ubiquitous Europe-gone-by theme. They’re purchasable separate from Scythe, just be aware there are two denominations not available in the base set (the 2’s and 50’s). They’re only available as promo add-ons.
If you’re a completist, Stonemaier released painted versions of the 5s and 10s after some players complained they were a little hard to tell apart. I’m not a huge fan of how they look (I think Dinosaur Island is the only game where I actually like the painted coins), but they’re out there if you want ‘em.
Seafall
These coins are genuinely the best thing to come out of Seafall. Wow, did Plaid Hat hit the mark with these coins. They’re good looking generic coins with a design which somehow manages to straddle just about every genre you could think of. They work with historical, fantasy, and sci-fi themes. I think they only theme they might not work so well in is a modern-day one, but even then they’re so generic they’d probably be fine.
They’re a great size, the denominations are clear, and the coloring on them is a unique sort of matte rendering of the typical copper, silver, and gold, which makes their colors and denominations really easy to distinguish from across the table. They’re a little on the light side, but that’s not a problem for a set of 100+ coins.
I don’t own Seafall, so these coins currently reside in my copy of Terra Mystica, and they look absolutely beautiful there.
SmallWorld Designer Edition
I mean, what can I say about these coins I haven’t already said? They’re some of the most beautiful coins I’ve ever seen for a board game, but obviously they’re mostly unattainable. The SmallWorld DE goes for upwards of $1000, and Days of Wonder has never made these coins available outside it.
Which, to be honest, isn’t a huge deal, because they have a big ol’ “SW” on the back of every coin, so they’re pretty heavily tied to SmallWorld. They’d be a great addition to a retail copy, but I can’t imagine DoW can make them cheap.
Tokaido Collector’s Edition
These coins surprised me. They’re smaller in diameter than I expected, but they’re really thick and heavy, and such a great aesthetic addition to a game like Tokaido. They’re also available separately, and at $18 for 50 coins, they’re actually a pretty great deal. I’m not really sure how widely they can be used, since they only have a single denomination, but they’re a fantastic addition to any copy of Tokaido.
Viticulture
Stonemaier was one of the first companies I ever saw making metal coins available outside the deluxe version they were designed for. The Viticulture metal coins are very nice, with good weight and size and beautiful finish.
The only downside is they’re heavily thematically tied to Viticulture, with all the coins displaying a bunch of grapes and a stylized “V”. If you don’t care about your coins specifically matching a game’s theme, they’re a great deal, but I struggled to find any other use for them outside Viticulture. Until I picked up…
Vinhos Deluxe
Yokohama Deluxe
These coins are really great. Designed to mimic actual 19th century Japanese coins, these have a really nice weight and feel, and would be a fantastic addition to just about any game with a Japanese theme. Games like Tokaido, Nippon, or Yamatai would all benefit from these coins.
OTHER GAMES WITH BESPOKE COINS
The games below all come with metal coins, and run the gamut of availability. I don’t have any personal experience with any of these coins, but I’ve included pictures of each. The only ones I’ve ever really wanted were the Caylus coins, not because I particularly love Caylus, but because they are a near-perfect thematic match for one of my all-time favorite games, Troyes. Alas, they’re almost impossible to get ahold of.
Belfort 10th Anniversary Edition (Upcoming, No Photo)
Caylus Deluxe Edition
Photo Courtesy Ludovic Russo. Used with permission.
Colosseum Deluxified
No photo. If you have one you’d be willing to contribute, please contact me!
Die Speicherstadt: Kaispeicher
Photo courtesy Robert Jones. Used with permission.
Dominion: Empires/Guilds/Prosperity/Seaside
Photos courtesy CLS Games, Magnus Percan, and Eric Yurko. Used with permission.
Dungeon Lords Anniversary Edition
Photo courtesy Mark O’Reilly. Used with permission.
Everdell
Photo courtesy Diana Ostrat. Used with permission.
Gentes Deluxe (Upcoming, No Photo)
Hegemonic
Photo courtesy www.miniongames.com.
Moneybags
Photo courtesy www.oinkgms.com
Near and Far
Photo courtesy Stathis Kokkinakis. Used with permission.
Puerto Rico Anniversary Edition
Photo courtesy Nuno Bizarro Sentieiro. Used with permission.
Raids
Photo courtesy Jonathan Nelson. Used with permission.
Rise to Nobility Deluxe Edition
Photo publicly posted, credit unknown. Please contact me for attribution.
Rising Sun (Kickstarter Add-On)
Photo courtesy Sebastian Alvarez. Used with permission.
The Smiths of Winterforge
Photo courtesy Instagram user @RuleAndMake. Used with permission.
Vault Wars
Photo courtesy floodgategames.com.
Xia: Legends of a Drift System
Photo courtesy Amazon.com.
FANTASY COIN, LLC
Fantasy Coin is one of the first companies I encountered making a range of different coin styles specifically for gaming applications, without tying them to specific games. Of all the coin manufacturers out there, Fantasy Coin are definitely my favorite. Their coins are thick and heavy with fantastic finishes and colors, and come in a wide array of fantasy and sci-fi themes.
Getting ahold of Fantasy Coin’s products can be a bit fraught, though, as their primary source of income tends to be Kickstarter. Their website frequently sells out, and as their stocks dwindle, they’ll run another Kickstarter to replenish. Once one of their Kickstarters ends and ships, they’ll typically have stock which can be ordered directly from their website, but be warned you might have to do a little research to find out when more are available.
They’ve had some logistical problems with a couple of their Kickstarter campaigns, but for the most part they’re really good at fulfilling them. Their latest campaign was really well handled, and I think they’ve done a great job of addressing their past issues. Some previous backers, IMO, go a little overboard blaming them for mistakes, but forgiveness is not a typical trait of spurned backers.
Don’t listen to the haters. Fantasy Coin’s products are genuinely amazing and come at a great price, especially if you get them in bulk from Kickstarter.
Alchemists
I spent a long time trying to decide what coins I’d get for Alchemists. Since it only really requires one denomination, I had a ton of options (the Charterstone coins are a phenomenal choice, FYI). I decided on these coins from FC’s “Magic” set.
Caverna
Caverna’s one of the first games I upgraded with FC coins, and I have WAY too many coins for the game. They’re real nice, though, all from FC’s “Dwarven” set.
Clank!
Originally, these coins resided in my copy of Lords of Xidit. They’re a great, generic fantasy theme, so can go in many games. Once I picked up the Roll Player coins, though, I thought those were a better fit for LoX, so I moved these over to Clank. And they’re a perfect fit!
Five Tribes
This is probably one of my favorite upgrades using FC coins. I couldn’t find any really good, affordable Arabic- or Middle East-themed coins (at the time, there are some now), so I decided to lean into the fantasy side for Five Tribes. The silver coins are from FC’s “Serpent” set, and the golds are from their “Air Elemental” set. I think both work really well as representations of djinn.
Some people complain, when using coins like this for Five Tribes, you can’t hide their denominations. If it’s important to you to do so, I suggest getting either pouches or player screens to keep the coins hidden. However, I’ve never once found open money to have a significant impact on the game, so we just don’t bother.
Lancaster
I was originally planning on putting the old Brass coins into my copy of Lancaster, but when FC launched their latest Kickstarter and I saw their “Nottingham” set, I just couldn’t resists such a perfect thematic match.
Lunarchitects
Lunarchitects doesn’t actually have currency in-game, but one of the other great uses for metal coins is as victory point chits. Lunarchitects has a LOT of VP chits, and I definitely went overboard here, but it’s such a great game and I love these “Sci-Fi” coins from FC.
Nippon
There are actually several different options for Japanese themed coins, including the Yokohama metal coins and Artana’s Japanese set (which you’ll see in the next section). I chose to go with Fantasy Coin’s “Feudal Japan” coins for Nippon, because I just love the way they look.
Race/Roll for the Galaxy
Here’s another couple of games without currency, but for which I’ve replaced the VP chits with metal coins. In this instance, I don’t think I went overboard at all, and these “Credits” coins from FC are just an amazing aesthetic upgrade for two classic games.
Yedo
Yedo is one of my wife’s all-time favorite games, and ranks high in the worker placement genre for me. So, naturally, I bought the same “Feudal Japan” coins I used for Nippon for my copy of Yedo.
ARTANA
While Fantasy Coin is the company you’d turn to for fantastical and sci-fi-themed coins, Artana’s where you go when you’re looking for something with a more historical bent. While they don’t mimic specific real-world coinage, their designs evoke real-world cultures and time periods, which make them a fantastic choice for your average Eurogame. They tend to be lighter and thinner than Fantasy Coin, but not in a bad way. They also have 5 different sizes and finishes, from “Tiny” – which live up to their name – to “Jumbo” which are larger than a US half-dollar.
Artana’s coins used to only be available via Kickstarter, but they’ve since shifted their model to selling through game-bling websites like The Broken Token and Top Shelf Gamer. Since many coin manufacturers still rely on periodic crowd-funding to release new products, Artana’s consistent availability makes them unique.
I have just as many Artana coins as Fantasy Coin, and for good reason: they’re awesome. I’m primarily a Eurogame player so their coins are a thematic match for a lot of games I own. Their price-point is roughly the same as Fantasy Coin – on the lower end of the spectrum, overall – although because they have five different sizes and styles in every coin set, the price point varies depending on what specific coins you buy.
Akrotiri
I’m still genuinely surprised at how perfect Artana’s “Ancient Greek” coins are for Akrotiri. The specific motif perfectly matches the designs in the game, and I couldn’t ask for more.
Archipelago
For Archipelago I wanted coins fitting a 1700’s nautical aesthetic. These are from Artana’s “Pirate Ships” theme. The other coins in the set were a little too “skull and crossbones” for what I wanted (although colonizers ARE just another form of pirate), but I thought these two coins fit the theme really well.
Castles of Mad King Ludwig
I mean, these “Early English Kings” coins aren’t technically thematically appropriate. But I had them and figured I’d toss them in with a game set in 1800’s Bavaria because… well because the game needed some coins.
Concordia
Got a game set in ancient Rome? Get some “Ancient Roman” coins!
Istanbul
Again, near-perfectly themed coins from Artana’s “Persia & Asia Minor” theme. I really like the way these coins look with Istanbul.
Troyes
Artana’s “Middle Ages” theme is great for a game set… in the middle ages. They’re a little more Anglo-Saxon than Frank or Norman, but no one’s ever really going to notice. Ystari games once made coins for Caylus which were a perfect thematic match for Troyes; alas, they are no longer available.
The Voyages of Marco Polo
These are the first Artana coins I ever picked up, from their “Renaissance” theme, and they couldn’t look better in this game.
Yamatai
Really, any of the Japanese-themed metal coins I’ve seen or owned – from the Tokaido coins to Fantasy Coin’s “Feudal Japan” theme – would work well in Yamatai. But as beautiful as this game is, I wanted something with a bit more variety. Artana’s “Japanese” theme fit the bill perfectly.
Giochix Historical Coins
I’m a little torn on the Giochix Historical Coins. On the one hand, they’re nice sizes and weights, and they feel and sound great. On the other hand, they’re not really filling any sort of necessary niche. Artana has the “historical” space covered pretty well, and Fantasy Coin’s selection of SFF themes is pretty universal. If they were going to create specifically thematic coins, I wish they’d have filled some of the holes in this tiny industry, or just gone completely generic, which actually would’ve fit their physicality a little better.
All that said, Giochix did manage to create a couple of themes I found useful, specifically their “Pre-Colombian” theme, which is an area of the world other companies have neglected. It is, however, pretty niche, and I understand why they chose to make more applicable themes for Eurogames.
I only have two minor gripes: First, the shiny finish – while not necessarily bad in and of itself – does make the denominations a little hard to tell apart at a distance. Second, the relief on the faces of the coins is very shallow, looking much more like modern Euros than anything fantastical or historical. The problem this leads to is making it very difficult to differentiate coins from different themes, but if they’re assigned to a specific game this shouldn’t really be an issue. (It’s only an issue for nutty people like me who have this many different coin sets.)
They’re a good price, coming in at about 24¢ (US) per coin, which is on the low end of the scale. Their affordability goes a long way to ameliorate the complaints I have. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out their availability outside Kickstarter.
Altiplano
There aren’t many coins out there with a South/Central American theme, so when Giochix made their “Pre-Colombian” set, I knew I had to put some in my copy of Altiplano.
Lost Cities: The Board Game
Uh… same.
Heaven & Ale
Okay, so it’s a bit of a stretch to have Giochix’s “Spanish Colonial” set representing Heaven & Ale, a game about beer-brewing monks more likely set in Germany or Belgium, but there were Benedictine monasteries on the Iberian peninsula, so I’m just gonna run with it.
Isle of Skye
“Celtic Apogee”. Can’t be a better fit. As a side note, the metal coins for Clans of Caledonia would also be a great match for Isle of Skye, but I wanted to differentiate the two.
Lorenzo Il Magnifico
This very Italian game deserved some perfectly-themed “Medieval Italian” coinage.
Roman Coins
Since I got these sets in bulk from Giochix’s Kickstarter, I ended up also getting their “Ancient Rome” set. But I have no game to put it in. I would be suitable for Concordia or Trajan or any game set in Ancient Rome, but I already have coins in Concordia, and no other game with a Roman setting at the moment. Here’s a picture anyway.
REAL CURRENCY
Sometimes, fake coins either aren’t the answer or aren’t available. If you can’t find fake coins for your games, the best option might be actual currency, either historical or current. I’ve used real currency in 5 games, so far.
The real problem with acquiring real currency, especially if it’s historical or foreign (I’m in the US), is availability and price. Most of the time you’re not going to find it any cheaper than fake coinage, and getting enough coins in large enough lots to use for board games can sometimes be a chore. If you’re willing to do the extra legwork, though, you can get ahold of some really nice coins.
Ukrainian Kopiyka/Hryvna
When I published the original version of this article, I saw people shortly after talking about Ukrainian coinage for games. I followed through on picking some up, because they are INSANELY cheap in this context, running about 8¢ per coin. Which, incidentally, is massively higher than the exchange rate for some of them, but still massively cheaper than fake coinage. The design is pretty, and is the same across all the kopiykas, and they come in all the standard European denominations.
There’s a problem, though. The 1s and 10s are extremely small, thin, and light. Smaller and thinner than a dime, and significantly lighter. For me, this is a massive issue, for a number of reasons. They’re so small and thin I actually have trouble picking them up, which makes them frustrating to use. But more importantly, they’re not really an aesthetic upgrade from punchboard coins. Every time I used them, I found myself disappointed and just wanting to go back to the cardboard ones.
There is one MASSIVE exception here: the Ukrainian 1 Hryvna coins, which I’ll detail below under “Village”.
Camel Up
I put a set of these in Camel Up, and that’s what I’m using for the pictures. But, honestly, I’m going to replace them very soon.
Village
The unlike the kopiykas, the 1 Hryvna coins are actually pretty fantastic. They’re a little bigger than a quarter, and they’re really beautiful. You’ll have to cope with a very, very Orthodox design, and they’re obviously only good for games with a single denomination. But all those features make them really perfect for Village, a game with a small number of single denomination coins and a church as a major part of the theme!
Le Havre/Le Havre: The Inland Port
I couldn’t find good, fake coins for Le Havre, so I just bought real ones! These are WWII-era aluminum “Emergency Coins” from France, and they’re absolutely fantastic. They’re a little light, being made from aluminum, but they’re beautiful and thematic, even if the time period is a little off.
Beware, though: There are two different kinds of these coins. Some are from the French Republic, occupied in WWII by the Germans but still opposed to them, and some are from Vichy France, a French state who became collaborationists with the Germans. You can tell them apart (both physically and in ideology) by their mottos: The Republic coins say “Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite” (or “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”), where the Vichy coins say “Travail, Famille, Patrie” (or “Work, Family, Fatherland”. YEAH).
Don’t get the Nazi-adjacent coins.
Grand Austria Hotel
Good Austrian coins for games are hard to find at a good price. The thematic ones – especially for a game like Grand Austria Hotel – are prohibitively expensive. Granted, it’s not entirely necessary to replace the money tracks in GAH, but I wanted to anyway.
I ended up picking up a bunch of semi-modern Austrian Groschen. They’re a little small, and they might be too modern for the theme, but they’re Austrian and that’s enough for me.
Great Western Trail
I absolutely can’t take credit for this particular idea. I saw a reply on BGG from user TRONOFOTHEDEAD with the idea of using Indian Head Pennies and Buffalo Nickels for Great Western Trail, and I followed suit. I gotta say, I *love* these coins for this game, especially the 2-cent coin as the round marker.
This is a rather expensive upgrade. The bulk of the coins aren’t too bad. The Buffalo Nickels are actually only about 7¢ per coin, but the Indian Head Pennies run about 60¢ each. The two, together, average about 37¢ per coin, which is on the high end, but not terrible.
It’s the 2-cent coin which really breaks things, though. I paid $14 for the 2-cent coin alone, the common price range is for coins in not great shape. To be fair, when shopping for coins like these, you’re rarely going to get coins in decent shape at these prices. This is the cost for what are called “culls”, or coins collectors have separated out as junk and are selling in bulk because they’re not collectible.
But they’re perfect for board games!
As a side note, the metal coins for Montana: Heritage Edition are a near-perfect thematic match for Great Western Trail, if Big Kid Games decides to sell them at retail.
Russian Railroads
I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect upgrade than these. The included coins are clearly modeled after rubles, so real rubles are a great replacement. This set was comparatively expensive, costing me about $18 for 20 coins, but since I only needed those 20 and they were so thematically perfect, I bit the bullet.
The problem, now, is 90’s era rubles are pretty difficult to find. I tried searching for them on eBay (where I got these) and couldn’t find a decent lot.
OTHER GENERIC COINS
These are a couple of examples of other fake coins not specifically designed for board games, but which work well under certain circumstances.
Pachinko Tokens
Pachinko tokens are an absolutely fantastic option for generic coins, especially if you want something vaguely U.S.A. themed. I originally bought a large lot of them for a planned LARP which never materialized, and have since repurposed them for several different games. Almost all pachinko/pachislo tokens are about the same size and weight as a US quarter, and most of them will come with Japanese, vaguely American, or casino/gambling designs. Mine are mostly U.S.A. themed, so I use them in games with a modern Western theme.
No Thanks
No Thanks doesn’t actually have currency, per se, but it does have a set of tokens used for gameplay. My generic gold pachinko tokens fit the bill very well.
Panamax
Finding modern-themed fake coinage is actually rather impossible, so pachinko tokens work really well in modern western settings like Panamax or…
Suburbia
Again, modern Western setting, and nearly thematic coins to go with it. A great addition to Suburbia. At least right up until I get my copy of the Collector’s Edition, which includes bespoke metal coins!
Pirate Dubloons
“Pirate Dubloon” is probably the most ubiquitous theme in fake coinage, both metal and plastic. I got these particular coins on Amazon, for really cheap. They’re about he same size as a US quarter and come in 4 different finishes.
Note: these are the same coins Eagle & Gryphon Games sells for Empires: Age of Discovery, but they’re MUCH cheaper on Amazon and can be obtained in larger quantities.
Libertalia
I don’t have a hell of a lot of pirate-themed games in my collection, so I found the one game they work really well with.
CUSTOM POKER CHIPS
Some games just scream for custom poker chips instead of metal coins, and I can’t help but oblige. I’ve made custom chips both for currency and tokens for games, but I’ve only included pictures of the currency here. Making custom poker chips is actually fairly easy with a set of relatively inexpensive tools. I’ve created a tutorial on how to do it, which you can find HERE. That tutorial also has links for artwork which can be used for printing your own stickers for the games I detail here.
Capital Lux
The square wood “coins” included with Capital Lux, frankly, baffle me. They neither look like gold coins nor match the theme of the game, and for a card game as beautiful as Capital Lux, with stunning art from the always amazing Kwanchai Moriya, they actually detract. So it was a no-brainer for me to design chips for the game.
For Sale
For Sale could easily have been upgraded with metal coins, but something about the punchboard design just called to me for custom poker chips.
NON-COIN CURRENCY
Sometimes a game has some form of currency that – GASP! – isn’t coins. There are still tons of opportunities to upgrade currency like this, though!
Castles of Burgundy
The “Ore” from Stonemaier’s Treasure Chest is a perfect upgrade for the Silverlings in Castles of Burgundy.
Lord$ of Vega$
There’s a chance I may replace these with full-size custom poker chips some day, but for right now I love using these mini poker chips in Lord$ of Vega$. These particular chips aren’t available anymore, as far as I know, which is a shame. They’re the only mini poker chips I’ve found modeled after regular chips instead of the plastic, ridged ones, which I viscerally dislike.
Patchwork
I mean, this one’s just obvious, right?
Terraforming Mars
Okay, there are a couple of different sites offering a metal cube upgrade for Terraforming Mars, to replace the metallic plastic cubes included with the game. The upgrade is phenomenal, and it was one of the first things I ordered after getting the game.
But it’s always bothered me that the “gold” cubes in the set are the gold bars from the Stonemaier Treasure Chest instead of actual cubes. I know it’s a piddling thing, but it just seemed a little off.
A friend of mine, Eric, is the biggest Terraforming Mars fanatic I know. My gaming group plays the game a lot, and Eric plays it even more, with multiple groups he joins to play. So it only makes sense he’d be the one crazy enough to actually requisition a new set of metal cubes for Terraforming Mars, ones better matching the style of the game by a) actually having CUBES for the gold, and b) all being different sizes.
This set is better, IMO, than the ones you can get from The Broken Token. Eric plans to make them available via an Etsy page soon, and I’ll update this article with a link as soon as it’s up and running.
DISHONORABLE MENTION
I know I already mentioned the coins for Tokaido’s Collector’s Edition, but before I bought the CE I had these coins for my retail edition. They’re unmitigated garbage.
They’re thin and flimsy and tiny and they don’t sound great or feel particularly good and they’re really not any better than the carboard coins and they’re Chinese and not Japanese and they’re trash.
I paid $2.47 for 40 coins, shipped, and I got ripped off, honestly.
COINS I DON’T OWN AND WHY
Obviously I’m not going to go into detail here about games I don’t own which include metal coins. I mentioned several sets in the Bespoke section above. But here are some details on some metal coins made by other companies and why I haven’t added them to any of my games.
The main reason I don’t own any of these is price. I was willing to spend the extra bucks for game-specific coins for LoW and 7 Wonders, and maybe my set of Russian Rubles, because the theming made it (sort of) worth the extra cost (I’ll be honest: I own and love those coins, but probably wouldn’t pay the price again. Maybe. I think?). Most of the coins below cost nearly the same (75₵-$1 per coin), but aren’t specifically themed for a board game.
In a lot of cases, getting enough coins for a board game involves multiple “sets” – as the manufacturers define them – so you don’t run short during play. With these manufacturers, multiple sets just end up being too damned spendy. That being said, the coins they make do look fantastic. The designs are really good, but they’ll need to come down in price before I’d be willing to buy some.
Legendary Metal Coins by Drawlab
The designs here are really great. I contemplated getting a set of their Arabic theme for Five Tribes, but I couldn’t justify the cost. Even in bulk, at their cheapest offering, they’re still 70₵ per coin. Most games, in my experience, require 50-60 coins to ensure you don’t run out at higher player counts, which rounds out to about $35-$48 for a set (depending on how you acquire them). That’s a little above my top end; half-again to double what I paid for the coins from Fantasy Coin and Artana.
Campaign Coins
Campaign Coins are really beautiful, and have the most “high fantasy” feel of any I’ve found. I actually considered getting sets from them for Lords of Xidit, simply because they match better thematically. However, at their cheapest, they’re about identical in price to the Legendary coins, so just out of my range.
Minion Games
Minion Games doesn’t have a wide variety, with only two different themes: “Metal Dragon Coins” and “Futuristic Metal Coins” (the coins for Hegemonic), and they range in price from 70₵ to 90₵ per coin. Which is, frankly, absurd.
They’re cool looking coins, but they’re absolutely not worth the price.
Moedas & Co
The only reason I don’t have experience with Moedas’s coins is because I just haven’t ordered any yet. They have some very awesome bespoke coins for specific games, including the giants like Terra Mystica, Great Western Trail, Lisboa, and more. Their prices are right in line with companies like Artana and Fantasy Coin, and their coins look genuinely great.
They’re a Brazilian company and their website doesn’t handle currency conversion, so to place an order in North America you have to e-mail them directly, which does add a layer of difficulty. It’s not something I’m at all averse to doing – the owner replies occasionally on BGG and other users have posted positively about their products and service – I just haven’t done it yet.
Never Stop Tops & Coins
Again, gorgeous, but expensive. Not quite as expensive as some of the others here, but still just outside what I would consider affordable. And, honestly, I haven’t seen any recent information about this company, so they may not be making coins anymore.
Shire Post Mint
Shirepost’s coins aren’t really viable for this kind of application. They primarily do licensed coins (Lord of the Rings, Kingkiller Chronicle, A Song of Ice and Fire, etc.), and they’re not built for bulk orders. They’re designed to be a novelty, and are wildly expensive, coming in at well in excess of $1 per coin. So, they’re cool, but not really worth it for board gaming.
Rare Elements Foundry
Rare Elements Foundry is one of the first companies I ever encountered making metal fantasy coins. Unfortunately, they are ungodly expensive for the most part. Their coins run around $22-$25 for a set of 10, pushing them up to and even beyond Shirepost’s prices. Their coins are very beautiful, but not feasible in quantity.
BEST GENERIC COINS
Here’s the thing: I love upgrading the coins in my games, and I think metal coins add a genuinely massive aesthetic boost. They’re absolutely my favorite type of upgrade. BUT, I also understand buying separate, thematic coin sets for a ton of different games isn’t for everyone. You might want metal coins, but would rather just have one or two generic sets you can use across multiple games whenever you play. So here are my opinions on the best coins for that purpose:
Honorable Mention – Poker Chips
Poker chips, either generic or custom, are a great option. They’re frequently cheaper than metal coins, and you can get them in a bajillion different styles with or without denominations. But they’re not metal, and that’s an issue. They’re a fantastic option, though.
Honorable Mention – Pachinko Tokens
Granted, pachinko tokens have a weird “theme” and they look more modern than thematic, but honestly they’re great coins and you just can’t find a better deal. They come so cheap and in such large quantities I have to mention them here as an option for the budget-conscious.
Honorable Mention – Scythe Coins
The Scythe coins are absolutely fantastic quality and, as I mentioned before, are almost so thematic they’re themeless. If you want a set of coins with a little extra flair and don’t think their odd theming will clash with your games, you absolutely can’t go wrong here.
BEST SINGLE-DENOMINATION COINS – CHARTERSTONE COINS
Stonemaier does it again with their Charterstone metal coins. You absolutely cannot get a better set of coins for games with a single denomination. Some examples of games these coins would work great in are Lancaster, Russian Railroads, Villages of Valeria, Alchemists, and Village. But, basically any game where you only need 1s, get yourself a set of these.
BEST OVERALL GENERIC COINS – SEAFALL COINS
The clear winner here are the Seafall coins from Plaid Hat Games. They may be rather generic, but their design is beautiful, and they’d make a fantastic addition to any game you’d want to use them with. They’re a tiny bit expensive at about 40¢ per coin, but there’s over 100 coins in the set and if you’re only buying them once, it’s an absolute no-brainer.
They’re a great size and weight, and the colors and finishes are unmatched. I really like how distinguishable the colors are on these coins, and I absolutely love the satin finish because it keeps glare low and amps up the color variance, making the coins easy to tell apart from across the table.
If you can only get one set of coins for all your board games, make it this set.
METAL COINS FOR BOARD GAMES, A GEEKLIST
I acquire new coins as I get new games, and sometimes coins change homes when a game leaves my collection. To track and show these changes, I’ve started THIS GEEKLIST on BGG. Do you have metal coins in your collection? Do you want to show them off? Please add your own pics and descriptions to that GeekList! I know my collection is not comprehensive, and the more pictures and suggestions for coins and they games they work with would be incredible!
Thanks for spending the time to peruse my compulsion for metal coins in board games! I hope you’ve enjoyed the pictures and commentary. If you have metal coins of your own and would like to show them off, I’d love to see them added to the GeekList, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.
If you want to talk about metal coins, or DIY upgrades, or board games in general, you can always find me on Twitter @PixelartMeeple, on Instagram @pixelartmeeple, on BGG at PixelartMeeple, and on my website www.pixelartmeeple.com! You can also hear my (much more succinct) thoughts on games on The Five By podcast.
Thanks for reading, and happy gaming!
