DRR Challenge Coins?

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Steve DeGaetano
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DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

These started popping up last weekend, near as I can tell. They're made in China and seem very well-made. The first one to pop up was numbered 49/50, but there seem to have been more than that. It doesn't indicate that the others are numbered. The seller has been the same for all of them. Anybody have any information?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/285391941038?h ... R4zE-JSvYg
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Locoboy5150
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Locoboy5150 »

Hmmm...I have never seen those before.

I noticed that the top of the letters l and d in "Disneyland" just barely touch the gold border around the outer circumference of the coin. Those are errors that an official DRR souvenir probably would not have.

Then again, now that I think about it, official DRR items from Disney have all sorts of glaring mistakes on them (as us fans point out all the time) so maybe this "error" would fly under the radar.
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Steve DeGaetano
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Personally, I would have preferred the intertwined "DRR" to the castle logo, if I had my druthers.
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Locoboy5150 wrote: Sat Jul 22, 2023 6:04 pm I noticed that the top of the letters l and d in "Disneyland" just barely touch the gold border around the outer circumference of the coin. Those are errors that an official DRR souvenir probably would not have.
Well, the letters touching the border could just be a result of the lettering having a gold outline. The letters on the actual herald aren’t outlined. But an even bigger “error” is that the flag is missing from the tallest castle spire!

I picked one up from eBay. They’re larger than I expected, heavy and exceedingly well made. The red center is deep and saturated, very close to the actual color (but glossier). The edge is etched, with (c) Disney, Made in China, and the edition number (mine is 40/50). With, apparently, only 50 made, and at least 25 or more hitting eBay in the last week (all from the same seller), you have to wonder whether these are being used as intended— as small tokens given to train CMs for a job well done. It doesn't seem so.

I suppose with anything "numbered," you could have multiple runs. So maybe the numbering is meaningless.

My copy has a slight dark smudge above the L and R in RAILROAD. Looks like it is part of the enamel. Could this be enough of a blemish for Disney to unload the blems while waiting for a pristine replacement set?

The first couple of these to hit eBay went for over $100 bucks. However, they're now at a "Buy it Now" of $30. Considering the size and quality, and compared to what some much smaller pins are going for out there, this doesn't seem unreasonable.
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by WesternRiverRR »

Just got one too - mine says 8/50 on the edge of the coin.

No smudge on the face - but, the edge of the coin has several very small nicks and dings.
Still, looks really nice IMHO
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Definitely something weird going on here. It would seem none of these made it into the hands of CMs. By my count, about 43 have been sold or are available. My only thought is there was some QC issue with the production run, and they’re being dumped on the market.
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by WesternRiverRR »

Steve DeGaetano wrote: Sat Jul 29, 2023 10:22 am My only thought is there was some QC issue with the production run...
That, or they were produced ahead of an expected approval (that never materialized), or arrived after a license agreement lapsed or was revoked?
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Yeah, maybe so!
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Well, regardless of how or why they got onto the market, the fact is they are out there. I do recommend picking one up if you're able. They (for the time being) appear to be quite limited, appear to be made as CM-only collectibles, and are selling for a reasonable price considering the quality and limited availability. You could have two of these coins for the price of a plastic popcorn bucket (however nice!).

I never buy this stuff with the idea of making money, but I'm curious to see what happens to these when they start getting re-sold a year or two down the road.

In looking into it, there are a few methods to display such challenge coins so that both the front and the back are visible, some of them very reasonable (as in, less than $10 bucks).

When collecting such DRR memorabilia I much prefer to have DRR stuff unadorned with Disney characters, and this definitely falls into that category.
Steve

The latest edition of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad! is now available to pre-order, with a special price for Burnslanders! You can read more about the book and pre-order a copy from http://www.burnsland.com/store/dlrrbook.shtml
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Re: DRR Challenge Coins?

Post by CP173 »

From the auction pictures, I don't see any (c) Disney or TM Disney. Anything officially produced through the company must bear one of those marks. (Trust me, I know.) As such, I suspect this is a fan-made item.

Not that it isn't nice, but it probably wouldn't have the same collectible value as something made by/for the Company.
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