Black Lives Matter. 

It’s impossible to find the right words to express the feelings we have right now. I know that it is more important to show our solidarity even without finding the right words. We mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Nina Pop, and far too many other Black people. We support the Black community and vow to investigate what we can do now and every day to be better allies.

As a society, we must do better and I believe that we can.

We are so pleased to share that Shire Post Mint has been able to stay open through the last few tumultuous months thanks completely to your purchases of our coins. We want to share our good fortune so we are going to try something new: a Donation Incentive Program.

PLEASE NOTE: THE DONATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM HAS ENDED. 

The information below will remain so you can check out the organizations and hopefully be inspired to donate.

Shire Post Mint has donated $100 to each of the nonprofits listed below and we want to encourage you to donate as well. Within the month of June, if you donate to one of our suggested nonprofits, we will issue you a gift card to shirepost.com for the full amount of your donation up to $200. If you are planning a purchase on shirepost.com at any point in the next year, consider donating instead. That way the organization will get 100% of your donation and you’ll still get that coin you’ve been wanting. We will award up to $5k in gift cards total. We hope that in this way we can make a bigger monetary impact compared to donating a percentage of profits. 

This is how it works:

1. Look through the list below to find an organization that resonates with you. These organizations were picked by the employees of Shire Post Mint.
2. Send a donation directly to that organization.
3. Take a screenshot of your payment confirmation. Please don't crop the screenshot.
4. Email that screenshot to us. 
5. Make sure to include your email address so we know where to send your Gift Card.
6. We will issue you a Gift Card for the full amount of your donation, up to $200 per person. The Gift Card can be redeemed on shirepost.com for one year, expiring July 31, 2021
7. Between today and June 30, 2020, Shire Post Mint will issue up to $5k worth of Gift Cards total. We will update the graphic below daily so you will know when this donation incentive program is coming to an end.

Donate to these organizations:

Gift Cards can be applied to shipping costs but will not combine with any other coupons. We will aim to issue your Gift Card within 24 hours of receipt of your donation confirmation. Donations must be made between June 15 and June 30, 2020 to qualify. Thank you for your support. 

Current total: $5,000

Goal: $5,000

Thank you for donating!

Woody, master of machine and coin, recently developed a new anodizing technique for our niobium moons: 

1. One layer of anodization covers the coin with blue.
2. That layer is partially tumbled off over a few hours. This leaves the first blue layer in the lower parts of the design (shadows) and the higher parts are raw niobium again (highlights).
3. The 2nd anodization puts purple onto the highlights to create the two-tone effect. 

In addition to this new patina, this is the first time we've ever made a large 1.5" anodized niobium moon. 

Shop the blurple moons here

Anodization of niobium is not a plating or dyeing process, but it in fact increases the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts. This layer refracts light bouncing off of it which creates the blue and purple colors you see here. In fact, these coins are really hard to photograph since the colors will change a bit depending on the angle of the light hitting the coin. Water on the coin will also change the color dramatically. The colored anodization is very durable, but will wear down over years at the same rate that niobium will wear down, mainly in the highlights. 

Check out the 2nd anodization process video:

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A post shared by Shire Post Mint (@shirepostmint) on May 1, 2020 at 11:10am PDT

Shop the blurple moons here