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You are here because:
- You’re one of the 100 lucky owners of the unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. collector coin.
- You have heard of/seen that coin and you want to learn more about it.
- You were visiting my website.
What is S.T.A.L.K.E.R.?
The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series are first person shooter (FPS) games with some role playing game (RPG) elements. You’re a stalker exploring the zone, which is the surrounding of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. You’re looking for rare and precious artifacts. It’s virtually interesting to have the chance to explore such a mysterious place. Graphics are simply awesome and the immersion is excellent. Day and night cycles are also contributing to the excellent atmosphere. When I first read about the game, the concept, the zone, I was hooked up. Because of many delays, it took a long time before we were able to get our hands on it. I was looking to buy a Collector’s Edition from the beginning but there was none released in North America.
Over a year later came the second S.T.A.L.K.E.R., which is a prologue. I have to say that I’m not a huge player playing many different games in a month. I’m usually very selective and when I find something I like to buy, I often look if there is a Collector’s Edition, just like I’ve done with Diablo II. There was no CE for the 1st S.T.A.L.K.E.R. released by THQ and I was frustrated again about the fact that there was no planned CE in North America for the 2nd S.T.A.L.K.E.R. either, this time released by DeepSilver.
July 30th 2008
There was an announcement about Europe joining Russia, Poland and Germany who would all offer a Collector’s Edition. Look at all the goodies included in the Russian box!
Same for the Polish edition!
Enough for a fan to be jealous… and still nothing announced for North America.
It’s at that moment that I had the idea to start a petition in a hurry just about that, and in a month the petition had 172 signatures. Not bad I said to myself!
August 5th 2008
Some more signatures and it was time to get in touch with Deep Silver and point them to the petition page to see what they could reply.
August 7th 2008
Cathy Tische, vice president of sales and marketing at DeepSilver, confirmed to me there won’t be a CE for North America. My only option was to buy from another country by paying a lot more and play a game that would not support French/English depending where I would buy it.
August 16th 2008
On my desk was sitting a geocoin. If you don’t know what a geocoin is, it’s probably because you don’t know what geocaching is. Please go read what geocaching is because it is an outdoor activity you will likely like. A geocoin is usually a beautiful coin made to travel from a geocache to another and there are some of them we can track with a unique number. I remember the first time I found a geocoin a few weeks after I started geocaching, it was one from the Canadian Forces, and I was amazed how cool it looked. It’s nothing like a 25 cents coin. Curious to see? Google TB1MT7X.
So this is when I had the idea. To have a coin dedicated to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
I wrote a short email to Landsharkz with a few basic questions about my coin idea. I wanted to know about the minimum quantity and the price. A single coin would have cost a lot because an artist have to create the dies needed to produce the coin. So I had no choice to look for the minimum order (100) to bring the cost down.
August 17th 2008
My first step at this stage into this project was to get in touch with GSC Game World and ask if my idea was something possible. Having to sell 99 coins is not like a unique personal coin they would probably have never heard of. Also, I wanted to use the real S.T.A.L.K.E.R. font so I believe it was a must to ask them the permission. My goal was to sell the coins without making a profit (but of course being safe so that it does not cost me money to go into such a big project). I had 3 email addresses for 3 different contacts at GSC so I sent an email to all 3.
August 18th 2008
Oleg V. Yavorsky replied me and I replied back with more details regarding my project.
August 27th 2008
No reply yet from Oleg… I wrote him a short email as a reminder.
September 17th 2008
Still no reply from Oleg! 🙁 I wrote another short email trying to figure out if I was forgotten or something. Oleg must be a busy guy, but I believe that a one month delay is a bit long to return an answer.
September 18th 2008
Yep, exactly one month later, I received a message from Oleg: « Sorry for the silence on my part ». I didn’t bother to ask why the delay because in the same message I had an OK from Oleg for my project!
September 23th 2008
My native language being French, I wanted to look serious and professional because this would be announcing to everyone the beginning of the project officially, so it took me over an hour to compose the letter you will be reading below (sent the 24th). I have first shown it to Oleg for approval.
I also sent a collection of images to Landsharkz for a more serious look at what was possible. Without showing you all the pictures in the package, I’m showing you the really first draft of the coin all done by me using MS Paint!
The radiation sign was a must because we can see it almost everywhere S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is. On side 2 I knew already I wanted a bolt (!) to show in there because I thought it is very related to the game we all know, even if some use it and others don’t. I thought also it would be fun to explain why that bolt to all the people you will be showing the coin! I also had the idea of a gas mask but that’s was it for now. There was a triangle left to fill and maybe the center also but wasn’t sure about inserting anything in there.
The icing on the cake for me was the availability of a few glow in the dark colors. Immediately I had the idea to use it around the radiation sign so in the dark, the sign would be clearly visible. I thought it would make this coin even more unique and awesome and very desirable. I was just thinking of all the great occasions you would have to show that feature to your friends. This coin could also be considered an artifact since some were also glowing in the dark!
I was already thinking of a video presentation of the coin where I would present it rotating slowly to show both sides (makes it easier to show the 3D art on both sides) and then, just before ending the video I would shut down the lights and reveal the glowing part where we see the black radiation sign just like on warning signs. So after a WOW factor for the first part of the presentation there come another WOW at then end with everyone jaw dropped! Well, maybe not that much. 🙂
September 24th 2008
Next step was to see how many people would be interested so my first idea was to send an email to the 172 fans who signed the petition. Before sending the email I created another Gmail account named A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan to have things separated from my Rhialto account. I thought it would be easier to manage all incoming emails.
So without going into details and to avoid to repeat myself, there is the email that explains it all and which I sent individually to everyone using the BCC field:
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan,
You receive this message because you were interested in a Collector’s Edition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky in North America and you signed a petition in that sense. Sorry if my English is not top notch, I’m a French Canadian. There are the latest news about this: You must know by now that this won’t happen and it’s sadly true. DeepSilver replied me a few days after I started the petition that they had no plan for such. The good news however is that being a true fan of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I really wanted to please myself with something no ordinary, a true and unique collector item. I wanted something that would be of very high quality, in a word, a masterpiece. The idea I have in mind is a beautiful coin. Not a dime or a dollar but a thick coin that weight it’s value. For a unique coin it would cost me a lot of money because they have to create the dies needed for the production. The petition was a success, to me, with now over 170 signatures. Why not then look to please 99 other fans like me who could also be interested to own a unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. related item. The first thing I’ve done was discussing my project with Oleg V. Yavorsky, PR-manager of GSC Game World. He sees no problem for a quantity like 100. I have no plan to have more than 100 because this is very a personal project and just doing the first steps is very time consuming for me already. Remember I will have to send 99 pieces by mail too so this mean packaging, writing addresses, etc. The fact that the price I will sell them won’t be to make money was fine to M. Yavorsky. I still haven’t received a quote but the price I expect to sell each coin should not exceed 20$ Canadian (remember I live in Canada). Before going any further, this is all the information I wanted to share for now. Out of 172 emails sent, I know a few will bounce because people don’t always enter their real email address. Too bad for them, they may miss this opportunity. On all the remaining emails that will be read by true S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans, I would like to know how many of you may be interested to buy such an item. Who will be willing to pay 20$ Canadian + shipping? Please answer before Friday the 26th 11:59pm. Because you signed my petition, you are yet the only one contacted about this. If I ever receive 99 positive answers then I will go deeper into this and will get back to you with news in a few weeks. If only 50 are interested then I will start offering this into forums related to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Saturday the 27th. Thank you very much for having signed the petition. Every single signature is important. Sometimes it makes a difference. Sorry for this long message. I hope that this opportunity to own a very limited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. souvenir coin looks as exciting to you as it looks to me. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan |
Today I also had the idea of maybe adding the GSC logo in the center of the radiation sign. I sent an email about that to Oleg if they would let me use it, even if I wasn’t sure myself about really wanting to use it. Of course it would have given a bit more credit to the coin, a kind of “official” collector item stamp. But was it really important after all since I already had their OK to go ahead with the project?
September 27th 2008
Early this Saturday, when time was over, I had received 23 positives reply. A bit less than I first expected but never mind, now it was time to send the invitation into forums where many other fans are discussing S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Again, for easier management, I created another account with the name A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan on 2 forums where I was already known under the name Rhialto. The official GSC forum and The Zone Survival Guide forum.
Fortunately, 2 nice people in the name of Don Reba (on the GSC forum) and Dartz-IRL (on the ZSG forum) agreed to give me Moderator access so that I can manage myself (lock/edit) the unique thread I was about to create. Many thanks, guys.
September 30th 2008
This is the 1st general message posted on both forums with the title Personal S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coin project. You will see that it is similar to the previous message.
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans,
Sorry if my English is not top notch, I’m a French Canadian. I was the one who started a petition about a Collector’s Edition of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky for North America. The petition was a success, to me, with over 170 signatures but sadly, DeepSilver replied me a few days after I started the petition that they had no plan for such. The good news however is that being a true fan of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. I really wanted to please myself with something no ordinary, a true and unique collector item. I wanted something that would be of very high quality, in a word, a masterpiece. The idea I have in mind is a beautiful coin. Not a dime or a dollar but a thick coin that weight it’s value. For a unique coin it would cost me a lot of money because they have to create the dies needed for the production. Why not then look to please 99 other fans like me who could also be interested to own a unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. related item. The first thing I’ve done was discussing my project with Oleg V. Yavorsky, PR-manager of GSC Game World. He sees no problem for a quantity like 100. I have no plan to have more than 100 because this is very a personal project and just doing the first steps is very time consuming for me already. Remember I will have to send 99 pieces by mail too so this mean packaging, writing addresses, etc. I still haven’t received a quote but the price I expect to sell each coin should not exceed 20$ Canadian (remember I live in Canada, you may use http://xe.com for currency conversion). Before going any further, this is all the information I wanted to share for now. A few wanted to see a sample but I have none. I don’t want to show any draft before something more of a finished product is available. As soon as I get something great to show I will be pleased to do so but be assured you should not be disappointed. All coin will have a unique number from 001/100 up to 100/100. So far this was offered to those who signed the petition because by signing it they clearly stated they were looking for something special. They had up to Friday the 26th 11:59pm to let me know before I start offering this to all the fans in different forums. I got 23 positive reply with a few wanting more than one. Out of 172 emails sent, a few bounced because people don’t always enter their real email address. Too bad for them, they may miss this opportunity. Now it is your chance. I would like to know how many of you are interested to buy such an item. Who will be willing to pay 20$ Canadian + shipping? PLEASE ANSWER BY EMAIL ONLY (a.stalker.fan@gmail.com) the sooner you can. When I will get over 60 or 70 positive answers I will tell the company it’s a go. Sorry for this long message. I hope that this opportunity to own a very limited S.T.A.L.K.E.R. souvenir coin looks as exciting to you as it looks to me. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) I would like to thank those people who are making this project easier to manage: Oleg V. Yavorsy, Don Reba and Dartz-IRL. P.S. This message will be displayed on both official GSC forums and The Zone Survival Guide until the project either abort or complete. Feel free to spread words about that project to other forums (Oblivion-Lost.de, stalker-game.se, stalkerhispano.com, stalkerzone.de, stalkerfrance.com). |
I immediately added a 2nd message that was a F.A.Q. to answer many questions I knew people would have liked to ask. I kept editing it to add a few more questions I received, but I was mostly updating the F.A.Q. to let everyone know how many positive answers was received so far. Read it carefully as I answer most of the questions you may have in mind now.
| F.A.Q.
This thread is locked, why? What countries will the coin be available to? Is the coin related to SoC or CS? Any clue how this unique coin will look?
Why don’t you share any draft? How officially approved this project is? Only 100? What forms of payment will be available? Will you make a profit by selling the coins? How many Fans wants this unique coin as of yet? |
As you can see, from September 30th to October 12th I went from 23 to 73 positive answers. Not bad at all and I was ready to give the project a go!
On the following days there were many email sent back and forth with the company to get the art where I wanted it. That’s really a great moment where you design the coin with your own ideas.
It took some times to get an answer from Oleg about using the GSC logo. I believe he had to ask Sergiy Grygorovych, the founder and CEO of GSC Game World? The answer was: « I don’t think we can use GSC logo on your coin », and I had no problem with that. I updated the F.A.Q. about this. Case closed.
October 1st 2008
This is the day I received a first draft from Landsharkz. Usually they don’t work on a draft before we give a deposit but it was nice from them to give me an idea of how they work a draft.
So with all the previous information sent on how I wanted it, this is what Chris came up with :
On September 23rd you can see I asked for Glow #7 and this draft is showing Glow #5. We discussed it because the sample on Landsharkz website was showing me Glow #5 as green, far from yellow. Chris confirmed that Glow #5 is really yellow so from now on I was set on it and was even happier than having to go with Glow #7.
Serial number show up to 250, but I later specified it was limited to 100. The gas mask shown is usually for 2D setup and you will see later I asked for something that look less cartoonish, even if I liked that one.
Overall that was a good surprise but there was a lot of work to do to get it where I really wanted and I told them to not put too much effort into it yet because I was still waiting for more people to show interest in such a coin.
October 2nd 2008
I asked Oleg about writing something on the side of the coin. I was thinking of a message about the fact we must remember what happened April 26th of 1986. So I took Google translate and sent him: Пам’ятайте, 26 квітня 1986 року
October 8th 2008
Oleg answer was that it was a good idea. I submitted him a few alternatives still using Google translate:
- Я пам’ятаю – 26 Квітня 1986
- У пам’яті від 26 квітня 1986 року
- Усе почалося 26 квітня 1986 року
- Ми ніколи не повинні забувати – 26 квітня 1986
It was obvious I had to make sure someone who was able to read Ukrainian let me know what makes sense and what don’t. For me this was looking like Chinese anyway.
October 9th 2008
Asked Landsharkz about having an Ukrainian message on the side. I needed to know if the Ukrainian characters were available.
October 14th 2008
Was again waiting for Oleg, this time about the best Ukrainian message to use. On that day I got in touch with Don Reba to ask about the Ukrainian message I wanted to add on the coin. He replied almost instantly he was chatting with Atem from GSC on ICQ. Don asked my question to Atem who speaks Ukrainian and he replied back with the translation but also added his own suggestion that was Ми не повинні забувати 26 квітня 1986 and it was my favourite so I kept it.
I also have an account on ICQ but back then Mirabilis was running it. Haven’t used it for many years. Let’s see if it still work. I decided to go with the new ICQ2Go so no hassle to install the client first. It worked! The password was still good. Don gave me Atem ICQ# but just a few minutes after he went offline so I chatted with him later.
October 15th 2008
Let me introduce you to Megamat
I must tell you that another fan helped a lot for the project to go on. Megamat, the administrator of the fan site stalkerfrance.com, was so enthusiast with my project idea that he decided to order 20 coins and distribute them himself in France and the surroundings.
Also, I need to thank Megamat again because you have to know that I received the total order amount as soon as I decided that the project was a go and that was today October 15th. Without him I was always on the hesitant side because I would have had to pay the deposit all by myself and then the remaining amount at delivery time. I am grateful to him with the fact he trusted me without even knowing who I was really. I can tell you that *I* would probably not have had the guts to send that much money to an unknown person. So because of him the project was about to kick start with no more delay.
I asked Landsharz to send me a PayPal invoice for the deposit amount.
October 16th 2008
This is the day I had an idea for the last item in the only empty slot of the radiation sign. A Geiger counter! 3 items that are highly recommended when you plan to explore the zone, a gas mask, a Geiger counter and a few bolts to throw around. I was able to chat with Atem on that day and I asked him if they had a picture of a Geiger counter that was available in 1986. He sent me two huge pictures that I forwarded to Landsharkz.
I also received the PayPal invoice and I’ve sent the payment right away. Now I was pretty excited by this! The same evening I sent an email to announce the good news to all the 73 fans who were on the list to get a coin:
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan,
You receive this message because you are 1 out of 73 to have shown interest in getting a unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coin. Today I’m glad to announce you that the coin will truly exist! I’ve told the company it’s a go and I’ve sent the 1st payment this morning. This also mean they will now look deeper into this coin project because yet it was only a quick look at what I wanted so they could give me a basic quote to give you an idea of the price it should sell. I still have no intention to show any draft of the coin until completion. I want to avoid to deal with everyone’s idea and deceive some. If they were to ask all fans what they would want in a Collector Edition it would be a mess, don’t you think so? No worry, I’m sure you will like it and since about a week I have my idea on how I will present the coin to everyone and it should make some people say “ohhh!” and “wow!” if I’m able to do it like I want. 🙂 Since the beginning I’ve learned that there are many things to consider when getting into such a project. Like the fact I will have to buy envelopes for every coin (bubble envelopes will be the best option). I know it looks obvious but I forgot that when I had my coin idea. Also now I know that PayPal steal me some money from every payment I receive and that I also had to create a business account to be able to receive more than 2 payments a month. Fortunately, the price won’t change and 20$ Canadian should be the final price unless another surprise awaits me. I will really know the day I will receive the 100 coins but I’m 99% sure 20$ Canadian will be the final price. I’ve visited the post office to learn more about shipping cost. That’s where I learned about the bubble envelopes too. 4.75$ Canadian for international shipping will be the highest fee (and slowest delivery too, unfortunately. It cost a fortune for faster delivery). To ship to USA it will cost 3.00$ CAD and to Canada it will cost 2.25$ Keep an eye on GSC forums, I will update the current thread when necessary but I plan to remain pretty quiet until I’m ready to show the coin. Of course I will also email you when I will have something new. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) P.S. If for some reason you are no more interested in buying a coin, please let me know and I will remove your name from the list. |
And I added another message to my Personal S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coin project thread on both forums to announce to everyone the good news also:
| Today I’m glad to announce you that the coin will truly exist! I’ve told the company it’s a go and I’ve sent the 1st payment this morning.
Currently on my list are those who have shown interest in the current coin project with the short information made available. I know that a few of you were waiting to see the coin or at least a draft before jumping in and I can understand that but I have no intention to show any draft of the coin until completion, see F.A.Q. So until I receive the coin and present it to you, I will not add anymore names to the current list. This will give me a break. I will start adding names again only when the coin will be displayed here. There are still a few empty slots so you should be good to get one if you like it. The next announcement should be the presentation of the coin. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan |
October 17th 2008
Today I received the first official art (after the deposit, that is) from Chris. It’s an update from the previous one that is more complete since I had time to discuss the previous art with him. This one show all the items this time and as you can see, colors on the chimney makes it standing out which I like a lot because even GSC with the first presentation of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. was putting emphasis on this icon of Chernobyl. You can also see that Chris had the idea to put the Ukrainian message on side 1 of the coin because it was not possible to add Ukrainian on the side of the coin. I wasn’t sure at first if I liked it or not, I had the choice to go with an English message on the side or the Ukrainian like this:
I asked for a few more cosmetic modifications like the Geiger counter to be less in angle, the Ukrainian message to be right aligned and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. logo to be replaced with the original rippled-like which you’ll see below.
October 20th 2008
I received one of the last version but there was a little something I liked from the previous version that was missing this time and it’s the horizon line which move the Ukrainian message a bit lower and on a black background
October 21st 2008
Chris sent me the final art that was going to be sent to the mint. Instead of showing you what Chris sent me, I’m showing you a close up of side 1 I slightly edited and which I sent back immediately saying that one would be the final version
October 22nd 2008
Chris and I were happy with the art so it was sent to the mint for a 3D rendering. The manufacture have to redo the work with what Chris have sent and this time they have to work it with another software that will produce the coin but also give a better idea of the 3D art because of the shadings we will see before approving. It takes another week with again a few emails sent back and forth (this time between the company and the manufacturer because the first draw they send is usually not close enough to what we have sent).
In the meantime, before I receive the mint art revised by the company, the Canadian dollar was going down badly. Bad enough that I had to send another email to the 73 fans who were interested to let them know about the fact I would no more ask for Canadian money but for US money instead.
This message explains it all:
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan,
You receive this message because you are 1 out of 73 yet to have shown interest in getting a unique S.T.A.L.K.E.R. coin. In my last message I wrote that the next message should have been about the presentation of the coin but because of the current economic crisis, I had to share with you some additional information. First let me explain where we are now in this project. Over one week ago I’ve sent the deposit to start the art work. After emailing back and forth many times for modifications we got the final art done. Then the art was sent to the manufacturer for a 3D rendering of it with the instruction of having a coin 45mm large and 4mm thick (it’s usually 3mm or 3.5mm thick when no 3D, or 3D on one side). I’ve learned that day that there are 4 standard coin size available which are 38mm, 42mm, 45mm and 50mm, 45mm being the most popular. I asked the price for 50mm and it was a bit higher because of more metal used and the shipping fee that are higher (additional weight). I had to take a decision here. I hope that you will approve it. Since this will probably be the most ‘collector’ item over all what have been available about S.T.A.L.K.E.R. because of the very limited production of only 100, and that *I* was looking for a very cool and very unique item, I choose to go with the 50mm coin. More fine details will be visible on the coin too! Now, you must be curious how much this will cost you, right? Please let me quote myself (from last message) : >>Fortunately, the price won’t change and 20$ Canadian should be There we are, and again another surprise for me. I recently learned that PayPal would keeps nearly 80 cents for each 20$ I would receive (I never had to collect money before) and today it’s no secret that the current economic crisis hits everyone and of course the Canadian dollar is affected. Something I completely neglected. I may be 37 years old but it’s clear now that I’m not a real businessman! But I’m learning every day with this project, which is nice. Yesterday, the company decided to give me the 50mm quote in USD instead of CAD to protect themselves against the fluctuation of the dollar in the future. So when it will be time to send a payment request to you, just after the coin presentation, I will ask you to pay in USD. The new price for the coin alone is 18.00$ in US dollars. (Use xe.com if your currency is not USD). There will be the usual shipping charge you have to consider. I will get back to you with the amount in US later. If for any reason this coin project looks no more attracting to you then please let me know so I can remove your name from the list. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan |
October 30th 2008
What a long wait to get the first look of a 3D view! In fact Chris received a first version the 26th or 27th but was not happy enough with the result to show it to me but today I received this. Forget the yellow look, it has nothing to do with the color of the coin.
This is how it looks like in 3D (I know we are still looking at a 2D drawing, you have to imagine the end result of it in 3D and it’s not everyone who can easily figure this).
I was already feeling the 3D of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. logo, awesome! But I thought there was still some work to do on the chimney. I didn’t liked the fact it looks fresh paint so Chris had to ask the manufacture to work on this. If fact I had my own idea on how to do it which I already explained to Chris a few weeks ago but now it was time to explain to the manufacturer the look I wanted and find a way to achieve it.
November 6th 2008
It took a long week to get this art with only a few modifications made to the chimney. If you look carefully you will see the white paint looks damaged now. I like this better than the previous grey paint.
Close to be perfect to me. The only change I wanted this time is lowering the serial number a bit.
November 7th 2008
The final 3D art on paper is approved with what you see here. The coloured lines on the right tells us the different level (most raised, mid and recessed) of the metal.
It was time for the manufacturer to produce 3 sample coins with subtle differences between each so later I will have the opportunity to combine what I like on each to produce the final coin x 100. I now had about 2 weeks to wait…
November 27th 2008
While I was waiting anxiously for the arrival of the 3 samples coins due next week, I received a somewhat bad news that I immediately forwarded to everyone:
| Just a quick update.
November 7th the final 3D art was approved, after which they need 3 full weeks before shipping 3 different samples. I was expecting to get the samples next week. Today I received this message : « The mint says December 8th or maybe sooner. They had ‘a problem’ with the 3D-3D die and it is taking a bit longer, sorry. »
This means I should now receive the 3 samples only in the second week of December. In the same week I will decide what features of each sample coin to combine and this will result in one final and official coin. They then will need another 3 full weeks for the production of 100 coins. I have done my best to choose different features for the 3 samples so that there should be one that will have everything the way I want it. If I am happy with it, then I will be able to start working on a presentation to show it to you. If I have to combine features to get a final result then the presentation will be delayed until I get the final shipment. Initially, I had hoped for a delivery before Christmas, but it seems it won’t happen. Sincerely, |
I hope everyone is not as impatient as me and still have faith in me…
December 9th 2008
I received a picture of the 3 samples! Unfortunately, the antique silver finish I asked was not in there. It’s not Landsharkz fault. I asked for another sample like I wanted it since the beginning because I really believe it will give the best result and also because that’s the sample I wanted to use to do the presentation.
December 11th 2008
I’ve been told they will need 10 to 12 days to make another sample. I’m not really happy! I tried to put some pressure on Landsharkz so they can put pressure on the manufacturer because after all, it’s the manufacturer who is responsible of the mistake and who have not made the sample like I wanted.
December 12th 2008
Seems there is nothing else to do than waiting. So again I took a few hours to compose this which I hope is fine:
| Another quick update.
December 9th I had a message titled “sample photo”. I was very excited and nervous to open it! But, when I saw the photos, I had mixed feelings. The good news is that the coin look awesome. I have no doubt that everyone will like the coin. The less good news is that none of the samples I will receive next week is made of the metal and finish I asked for. What does this mean? It means that I won’t have the coin I wanted to show to everyone. And you will understand that I cannot present a coin that do not match exactly what everyone will get. Remember I have no control over the project at this point. I’m doing business with a company that do business with a manufacturer. Believe me, having to announce another bad news, which is again another delay, is very frustrating for me. Manufacturing errors happen but, twice in this adventure is no fun at all. Another frustrating factor is that the Holidays are coming and everything will be slow. Because of that, I expect the good sample to be in my hands early in January but, I think it would be safer to quote a famous saying in gaming industry, which is : “when it’s done”. Let me add a happy ending to this update by showing you a tiny part of the coin. It’s in B&W to hide the wrong color, and it’s tiny because I want to keep the mystery until the grand unveiling.
I will take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) |
After each message of this kind, a few fans were emailing me to encourage me and say they can’t wait to see the coin. 🙂
December 23rd 2008
Landsharkz sent me 3 pictures of the new antique silver coins. I thought they would receive only one because my choice were made for the final design. Anyway, I spotted a little difference with those coin. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. word was not looking like the previous saaples. Well, I decided to wait until I get it to better see the difference.
December 23th 2008
I just received the first 3 samples! Those are not silver antique but I can finally see the quality of the coin and it is very hot! I’m impressed.
Canada Post not being able to deliver in time, I will only get the 3 antique silver samples on January 5th. 🙁
January 5th 2009
I received the 3 new samples. Like I thought, there is a little difference that annoy me just a bit when I compare with the 3 previous samples but this will be corrected for the final shipment.
I’ve spent a few hours filming the coin until I had enough of what I wanted to work on a video presentation.
January 9th 2009
After many hours of work (I would say 10) the video presentation was completed. I also had the approval of Oleg to present it to everyone. I haven’t showed him all the video. I’ve shown him the very 1st few seconds only and also sent him the credits at the end if it was ok.
This mean EVERYBODY will see the coin for the first time Sunday the 18th.
January 12th 2009
It’s now the time to announce to everyone that I am ready to present the coin! Well almost, as you can read:
| This message will be short.
Guess what! On January 5th, I received the good samples (superb!) and immediately started working on a presentation of the coin in which I’ve spent quite a few hours over the last few days. So, I am ready to show the coin to everyone! I still have a few things to set up, thus, I will post the link to the unveiling of the coin next Sunday on the 18th at noon EST (Québec City time). I will also include more instructions about how I plan to proceed. Hold tight! 🙂 Just a few more days… Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) |
January 18th 2009
HEY! I bet this is what you were looking for! 🙂
And of course, the message posted on both forums:
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan,
Many of you have been following my adventure for a few months now and the moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. It’s time to present you the final results of my efforts put into this project. You can now visit a dedicated page to learn a lot more (like the very first draft) about this ambitious project that took life on August 16th 2008 following a petition I started two week before. You will also find a video presentation of the coin, so that way you will better see the 3D art on both sides, plus a surprise I’m not telling you! http://www.rhialto.com/S.T.A.L.K.E.R. *** IMPORTANT *** Since I have no idea how popular the coin will be after the presentation, and I do not want to be overwhelmed with the distribution, I will proceed in 2 steps. You will all understand that the first step was only offered to those who had shown interest since the beginning of this project. A message have already been sent to those people, and late next Sunday the 25th, I will know how many coins will be left over. There should be about 17 or more. Price : $18 + Shipping ($2 Canada), ($2.75 USA), ($4.50 worldwide) = $total USD If you would like to buy a coin now, you need to send me an email titled “WTB : add my name to the list please”. Since the project has been known for some time already, I will proceed with a first come, first served policy. Within a few hours I will reply back to you to confirm I have added your name to the list with your position. When I will stop adding names I will post a message here and on the dedicated page. TO BE FAIR to everyone, only one coin will be sent for each one of you. Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) |
January 22nd 2009
I had to report to the next Friday all the PayPal invoices I was supposed to send on that Friday.
A really bad surprise was awaiting me back from work. Just before supper (dinner for some people) I went on the second floor to do some verifications on the computer and I found it stalled. I tried a reset but the hard disk would not boot. Yes, my main hard drive, the famous Raptor X, could not boot at all because of errors in the MBR (Master Boot Record). I spent all the evening playing with many diagnostics and error recovery software but it was useless, the drive was full of errors and unreadable, everything was lost.
I do not work on Fridays so I spent all my free day to install the operating system on a borrowed disk, until I get a replacement. That was a really fun Friday. :-/
January 22th 2009
PayPal invoices have been sent as of today to all those who confirmed they wanted to purchase.
If you want to buy one, email a.stalker.fan@gmail.com a.stalker.fan@gmail.com with the title WTB : add my name to the list please
February 13th 2009
The 100 coins are being manufactured now. They had to redo one side of the die. I should receive them in about 4 weeks from what I’ve been told.
I RMA’ed my beloved Raptor X and got a new HD. Unfortunately, they were not able to supply me with another clear cover Raptor X. I bought it because it was the only HD available on the market where we could see the moving parts and I wanted to keep it as a part of history (and show it to my grandchildren, in many years I know) and make them laugh at such an old technology, hehe). Fortunately, I was a bit lucky with the replacement I received, and that should somewhat compensate for my sadness of not owning anymore a unique see-inside Raptor X.
February 27th 2009
Today I began printing labels for the envelopes, there are just a few:
I haven’t received the coins, I’m just getting ready…
March 9th 2009
Coins are sold out!
95 coins were sold. 5 were distributed.
36 France, 33 USA, 9 Canada, 4 UK, 3 Netherlands, 2 Germany, 2 Ukraine, 1 Australia, 1 Austria, 1 Bulgaria, 1 Czech Republic, 1 New Zealand, 1 Norway, 1 Romania, 1 Spain, 1 Sweden
March 12th 2009
Coins were shipped to me today. I’ve been told I should receive them Friday the 20th the latest. Since I don’t work on Fridays, I should be able to ship to everyone the 20th if I don’t receive them too late that day.
March 17th 2009
Good news! I have received the coins! Unfortunately, there was a little something unexpected… I had to send this to all buyers:
| Dear S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan,
Good news, the coins were delivered to me today so I will be able to ship them this Friday the 20th. They look awesome BUT NOT EXACTLY like I wanted and like it was shown in the video presentation. The difference is on the side with the radiation sign where there is now a black painted background. The original showed  What I received on left – How I wanted it on right (sample)This is not my fault, neither Landsharkz fault, but the manufacturer’s mistake. Now, I know that probably some of you will like it better this way and some would have preferred the original one. This is why I am sending you this email. If you don’t want the coin in it’s current state, I can refund you. You will have to hurry up and let me know ASAP, this mean before Friday. If I don’t get an answer by then, I will ship the coin. You will always have the option to sell it. Now, a little summary of my adventures: When I had this idea back in August, I saw this as a great challenge. When I decided to take the plunge later on, I wanted this adventure to be perfect by getting in touch with many fans and sharing with them this adventure. I never wanted to announce a bad news, especially after I collected money, because you gave me your trust and I wanted every one of you to be 100% satisfied. Some of you who followed my story know already that more than once I got unlucky. Delays, wrong sample coins sent, manufacturer problems, etc. In fact, I was pretty sure that I was safe now. All was nice for a few weeks, orders coming in, then I bought all the envelopes and printed all the labels and was now only waiting for the final shipment to arrive… but I was wrong. Believe me, I was shocked when I opened the box today. What was supposed to be a huge excitement turned again in frustration for a few minutes. There are worst things in life, I know. Now that I vented a bit (poor family members, friends, coworkers), I feel better and I think the coin look awesome. I hope you are still excited to get it in your hands! Sincerely, A S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Fan (aka Rhialto) |
You are many to reply with good words and this make me feel better.
– Arnaud
« Ce n’est absolument pas un problème pour moi si la pièce n’est pas exactement la même que celle qui était prévu, je suis quand même extrêmement content du résultat et j’ai hâte de la recevoir!
Personnellement, je pense que personne ne refusera sa pièce pour cela, mais je vous remercie beaucoup de nous avoir prévenu, c’est extrêmement honnête. Je vous remercie également de tout le temps que vous avez passé pour ce remarquable travail, je pense que le prix que j’ai payé (extrêmement modeste) ne reflète pas le temps que vous avez passé pour la réalisation de cet objet unique.
Merci beaucoup encore et à bientôt! »
– Dave B.
« I’ll definitely take the coin. You have done us all an awesome favor. From one S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan to another, thanks so much. I will enjoy this very much. »
– Stannis
« Your free to send them in, I am happy with the coins even if they changed a bit.
An unique piece stays unique whatever it looks like 😉
By this way I want to thank you for the time and effort you put in this project. »
– Dave D.
« I like it JUST FINE!!!!! SHIP SHIP SHIP LOL »
– Ryan
« That looks great! I will NOT be wanting a refund because it still looks AWESOME 😀
I can’t wait! I’m going home next week so I can be there when it comes in 😀
And you’ve done an amazing thing here. I can’t believe its been 7 months since you came up with this idea 0.o!
Can’t wait! »
– Flep
« I still think it looks awesome. You did a great job, I thank you for all of your trials and efforts, and I look forward with excitement to recieving the coin.
Thanks again, and congratulations on a fantastic job! »
March 18th 2009
Look what I found in the basement of the flea market where a few of you got mugged! It was glowing in a corner… very dark in there!
March 20th 2009
All coins were sent today. It took me all the day, a bit longer than I thought.
May 2nd 2009
I kept one coin (#009) to sell eventually on eBay for curiosity and it’s today I decided to sell it after a little break. Placed at 16:35:59 HAE for 7 days with starting selling price of 18$ US, same price as everyone bought one. Only difference is that I was paying shipping (less trouble than trying to figure out how to deal with different shipping amount).
There is the description:
May 9th 2009
16:35:59 HAE, HAE bidding ended with 4 bids (3 bidders) and the winner placed his bid at the very last minute and won the coin for 31$ US.
This is the email I got from him a few hours after:
– Óscar
« Hello Rhialto, how are you? (sorry for my english)
I didn´t know about your idea. I was looking for limited editions on ebay and your coin was on the list. I though: Wo wo wo, wait a sec, what’s this?!
I followed the link to your web and when i reached the final line, my eyes were wide open. “I can´t believe it, what an amazing job, I WANT THIS COIN!”
Well, thank you so SO much for all the job you had done. I can’t wait to see this amazing (and so special) collector’s object in my own collection. »
July 17th 2009
Hey! Guess what!
After a long wait, Oleg finally sent me a picture of him holding the coin #001/100 in his hand in front of their little museum related to the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. adventure (and some other things as we can see).
This will make a good souvenir for them and it will also be a good souvenir for me…
Thank you Oleg and also thank you to all the GSC team!
March 15th 2011
It sounds crazy but it looks real! The owner of coin #062 decided to auction his precious on eBay which ended today March 15th with a happy new owner thanks to a winning bid of $610 US:
April 11th 2011
Looks like the high amount of previous sale inspired another owner to sell his precious. Coin #080 was sold for $200 US:
August 26th 2011
Dave listed his coin #006 which ended at $610 US (again?) but he was never paid for it.
November 2nd 2013
For the 4th time only since coins have shipped world wide, a coin was listed on eBay. Coin #063 was sold for $202.50 US:
November 24th 2014
Funny! Taryn who run the WTFSexyHeadphones YouTube channel saw a post on the official S.T.A.L.K.E.R. page on facebook about someone selling a coin and decided to talk about the coin:
I doubt she read the full coin story here on this page by the way she describes it but I really liked the part where she says:
« it does look pretty sweet, I’m not gonna lie »
with a vocal fry effect for the « I’m not gonna lie » part.
CUTE! Even if not everyone like that now over abused voice effect, you would be a good candidate!
I wish I still had a coin for you Taryn! 😉
November 26th 2014
Fifth coin listed on eBay. In fact it’s coin #006 again (see August 26th 2011 above) but this time was sold for $350.00 US:
March 13th 2015
Sixth coin listed on eBay. Coin #020 was sold for $300.00 US:
July 13th 2017
Seventh coin listed on eBay. Who is Neutrontide? He already sold coin #062 March 15th of 2011! If he was a nice person, he would have replied me when I wrote him about this. All I hope for after all is keep the registry up to date. But whatever, coin #003 didn’t sell on that auction but just after outise of eBay for an amount around 300$ US I’ve been told:
May 1st 2020
Eighth coin listed on eBay AFAIK. Coin #073 was sold after 3 listing for an amount of 250€:
August 10 2020
Ninth coin sold on eBay. Offer of 350$ US was accepted for coin #003:
Comments from owners of a coin
– Andrei
« Dear Rhialto,
Just received the coin and this is by far the greatest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan item ever! I am shocked about the high quality of this coin. You can actually feel the items on the coin! The black part on the radiation symbol makes the Geiger counter, Gas Mask and the Bolt really stand out! The overall heftiness of this coin tells you that its one hell of a quality product. Also the Radiation symbol GLOWS IN THE DARK! On behalf of my self, and all S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fans, I would like to thank Rhialto for his efforts for bringing us this amazing product! Thank you Sir for being the biggest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. fan. Without your initiative we would not have the greatest S.T.A.L.K.E.R. collectable
item there is. »
– Stein
« I recieved my coin today. I feel like a stalker finding his first artifact! Thank you for your dedication. »
– Joseph
« Hello Rhialto, I just received the coin today, and I am very impressed. I am very happy with it and couldn’t ask for a better one, plus I think the new color on the back fits the coin very well. Thanks for the awesome coin! »
– Hans-Georg
« The coins arrived yesterday, and i must say, all that hassle was defo worth it. big compliments to you for that endeavour you made, and highly recomended if you make another project of similar sorts, mail me please. the coins met and surpassed my expectations defo.
great work, and best wishes from germany »
– Steve
« I recieved my coin on the 24th March and I have to say I’m extremeley impressed with it. The quality is excellent and it’s so big! Thanks very much for having such a good idea and putting it into practice. Be sure to let me know if you do anything similar in the future. »
– Tom
« Hey man, I received my coin today and it looks outrageously awesome! I love it.
I think it may be even better with the black background at the icons, i dont find that any kind of disappointment. It’s exactly as i hoped it would turn out to be.And it glows nicely in the dark 🙂
I received no. 66 out of 100 in case you might to know that 🙂
Thanks a ton for this simply wonderful project, If you ever plan to do a new project, drop a mail i’d be interested to atleast follow any new project you may think of. I love it.Tons of thanks and best wishes »
– Gustav
« Hey just recived my coin all over in Sweden, was kinda exciting to open it (partly due my mom going nuts over wtf it was all the way from Canada ) Im very pleased with the coin to be honest , dident think it would be so big and solid. Though as you described earlier it would probably been even more awsome with the metallic colour instead of the black but thats just a minor thing! Thanks alot for the coin and project! »
– IronStar7
« This completes my collection!
Seriously though this coin is freaking marvelous, thank you very much. »
– Dave
« Dude. The coin is awesome. Totally better than expected. Really cool. »
– Mark
« I just got my coin out of the mailbox a few minutes ago (you shipped it really well by the way). It looks fantastic and the detail is incredible. I feel like I’ve got a great rare artifact and didn’t have to brave any dangerous anomalies to get it! Thank you so much for your efforts, it was well worth it.
Now, I wonder what Sidorovich would give me for it…
Just kidding! »
A few weeks later:
« I think the coin is great and deserves more than to just be thrown in a drawer or something. The display was expensive, kind of ridiculous expensive honestly, but after looking around for quite some time it’s the one I kept coming back to. So I said to hell with it and bought it. I think it was worth it! »
– Desert
« Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I received my coin (012/100) this afternoon. Words cannot express how pleased I am with it! I know there have been some bumps along the road, so to speak, but this is simply amazing! Your drive and determination has resulted in something truly unique and spectacular. You’ve done your fellow fans a great service! I’ve included a few pictures for your collection. Once again, thanks! »
– Laurentiu
« Hello Rhialto!
The coin has arrived today to Romania!
* * * IT IS AWESOME !!! * * *
I have shown it to my entire family. Tomorrow it’s the turn of my buddies at work.
That’s a great success you achieved with this coin, congratulations. It is a true collector’s item. I am so proud to own it, thank you Rhialto, a thousand times… »
– Zaid
« I got my coin (018/100) today and it is awesome! The glow in the dark aspect is great! I’m glad to have been a part of the unique project and a big thank you from Virginia! »
– Peter
« Received my coin in the post today. Thank you very much for all your work in doing this project – and especially for being totally honest and upfront about the entire process. It seems there are not many people out there today that still possess the ethical qualities that you do.
Thanks again. I love the coin and appreciate all your efforts. »
– Jonathan
« So I received my coin today (79/100) and I must say im very pleased with how it came out, the black instead of metal background only makes it better I think.
So thank you for all of the hard work you put into the project and providing us with such a wonderfull collectors item. »
– Nathan
« Rhialto, I got up this morning, to see this package on my counter, a smile came accross my face, it was my coin!
S.T.A.L.K.E.R Was a game i stumbled upon, and fell in love with, it is a simply amazing game. Nothing comes close to the level of immersion you get from playing. Iv told everyone i know about it and gotten them to play it, and learn about the events that the game is based around. So many people do not know what it is or what happend. The Coin is, stunning, im beyond impressed at the quality and detail of it, i was very sad when i heard the US would not get a CE of Clear Sky, but i stumbled upon this post from a person named Rhialto about a project to make a coin as a collectors item for people unvailable to obtain the Europe version. I quickly replied and got my word in, received many messages and whatnot from him about the progress. and months later i have this amazing item that im gonna show to EVERYONE!Thank you Rhialto, you have done alot for us! »
– Bobby
« I just got my coin today and I feel bad that I only paid $18 for this. It is truly amazing. You have done a magnificent job my friend. GSC should give you a credit of some sort in their next Stalker game. The first thing that caught my eye was the awesome size of the coin which I wasn’t expecting. It’s enormous! They were well struck and the images are very clear. The coloring is beautiful too. I can’t thank you enough for putting this project together. Once again, great job! »
– Jack
« I received my coin today! The black on the radiation symbol is actually how the symbol looks, so the ‘mistake’ by the manufacturer actually made the coin perfect! Now when nuclear Armageddon happens and the world is turned into one big zone there will be 100 STALKERS spread across the planet who will form there own unique faction. And membership can only be attained with the showing of a special coin… »
– Megamat
« La pièce est vraiment de toute beauté et reflète aussi bien notre jeu préféré STALKER, qu’un hommage à la catastrophe d’avril 1986 de Tchernobyl en Ukraine. C’est donc avec une double fierté que j’ai pu ainsi participer à cette aventure “collector” et je te remercie chaleureusement, ainsi qu’Oleg Yavorski, de chez GSC GameWorld, pour tout le travail que tu as pu faire sur ce projet. Ce fut long mais qui au final, c’est un pur moment de bonheur.
Merci encore »
– Matt
« I received my coin today (007/100) and I’m simply amazed at the level of detail, the pictures don’t do it justice. The coin is awesome, and you are a legend for organizing this whole project and sticking with it through till the end.
Thank you, and Good Hunting Stalker. »
– Rachel
« un petit bonjour de france pour vous dire le bonheur d’avoir entre les mains un objet superbe (cette lueur la nuit près de pon PC c’est top)
un grand merci pour cette idée originale et cette réalisation extra »
– Daniel
« voila j’ai reçu ce matin ma piece collector de stalker clear sky que j’ai eu par l’intermediaire du webmaster du site stalker france (megamat pour ne pas le nommer) et je doit dire que j’ai été très agréablement surpris, c’est vraiment un objet magnifique mais domage que nous n’ayons pas eu droit au coffret collector.
encore merci pour cette très bonne initiative »
– Meyer
« Juste pour dire que j’ai bien reçu la pièce de STALKER. ( merci aussi à Megamat )
C’est du très bon travail, la pièce et vraiment bien faite. »
– Dave
« Rhialto, the coin is AWESOME. By far it exceeds my expectation. I am proud to be a recipient of such a quality product for such an awesome price and kudos for flawless execution on your part. »
– Owen
« Recieved the coin (24/100), and it is amazing. The design is fantastic, and I love the glow in the dark feature. This is truly a collector’s item, and I shall be proud something so unique!
Thank you for your dedication, the final product is just what you said it would be. »
– Thomas
« Received my coin a few days ago: The coin went above and beyond my expectations, thank you for all your hard work on it.
Even with the change in the design, I think it looks excellent. »
– Brice
« Je viens de recevoir la pièce par l’intermédiaire de Megamat. J’ai par chance pu avoir la 86/100 (en référence à l’année de l’accident).
Déballage:– Qualité de finition bluffante (poids, finesse des détails, traitement spécial phosphorescent, couleurs).
– 2 faces, 2 symboles. Ceux d’un jeu hors normes et d’un accident dramatique. Un superbe hommage !
Un grand merci à toi (et un peu à GSC Gameworld aussi) pour tous les efforts fournis. C’est sans aucun doute le plus bel artéfact collector qui soit pour tout fan de S.T.A.L.K.E.R. »See also his blog
– Bruno
« Désolé pour ce message tardif mais la pièce (060/100) est arrivée le jour de la naissance de mon fils (à quelques heures près) !
Je voulais vous témoigner ce message de remerciement pour cette pièce unique de STALKER, d’une rare finesse, et malgré vos visuels je m’attendais pas à cette qualité !
Un projet vraiment original, qui vous a sollicité sur plusieurs mois, et qu’il fallait absolument soutenir ! »
– Steve
« I wanted to tell you how pleased I am with the coin you have created. Though I do like the original design much more than the final product, I am still very happy with the craftsmanship and the overall quality of the coin.
I especially love the glow in the dark. Once again, thanks for all your hard work, it really paid off! »
– Zambini
Made a page about the coin on his blog
– Mark
« I have recieved my coin and I’m very happy with the product. Many thanks for the effort you have gone to in creating this coin. »
– Flep
« I think it is absolutely incredibly beautiful and awesome. You did such an amazing job. I couldnt believe how good it looked and how brightly the back of it glowed. Its just totally perfect, and I genuinely feel very honored to have managed to be one of the 100 people who got one.
Congratulations on undertaking and succeeding in such an ambitious and passionate project, and thanks for sharing your hard work with other dedicated Stalker fans. Also, thanks for sending the coin in the little plastic protector packet. That was a nice touch and a big relief. Now it will be easy to take care of it!
Again, thanks so much. Words can barely describe how cool the coin is or how happy I am to have gotten one. »
– Brian
« I have to say that is one fantastic coin! Besides being a big weighty bugger, it must be the thickest coin I’ve ever gotten, it’s also very detailed and the glow i the dark rad sign must be the most luminescent I’ve ever seen. It actually casts a shadow on small nearby objects when fully charged and lasts all night. I wonder what a Geiger counter would be saying if placed next to it. 8)
All in all a fantastic coin Rhialto great work! »
– Justin
« Now that Call of Pripyat has been released, it reminded me I had never gotten back to you about the coin. I’m very sorry I took so long, but I hope it pleases you to know that I was absolutely astounded by the craftsmanship of the coin. I rarely take it out of the plastic sleeve, only to admire its exquisite detail. The more I think about it, this coin is a fitting tribute to a series that I would regard as a lesser known gem in PC gaming. A rare treat for the gaming enthusiast with an eye for quality. »
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