Small-Disc RFID
RFID Coin Tag
Small HF/UHF Asset & Loyalty Disc
Quick answer
RFID coin tags pack an HF (ISO 14443 / ISO 15693) or UHF (ISO 18000-63 / GS1 EPC Gen2v2) chip into a 10-30 mm disc, 2-4 mm thick, with epoxy or ABS encapsulation rated IP67/IP68. They suit tool-crib and FOD programmes, calibrated-instrument tracking, gym / locker / laundry loops, loyalty and cashless-payment tokens, amusement / leisure tap-points, and product-authentication anchors — the cases where space on the host item is the binding constraint and a pocket-size disc is the cleanest mechanical fit.
- Disc 10-30 mm × 2-4 mm — fits on hand tools, calibrated instruments, loyalty tokens and small product housings where larger tag geometries do not fit.
- ISO 14443 + ISO 15693 + ISO 18000-63 / GS1 Gen2v2 covered in the same form factor — one SKU family answers tool-crib FOD, cashless leisure and product-authentication in one catalogue.
- IP68 epoxy or ABS disc survives tool-crib abuse, 80 °C commercial dish-wash and pool-chemistry exposure without antenna delamination.
Used in these industries
Deployments where this product is referenced on our industry landing pages.
At a glance
Use these short answers to decide whether this page matches the project before moving into the detail.
Form factor
Disc 10-30 mm diameter × 2-4 mm thick — pocket-scale token, 0.8-3.5 g typical mass. Optional 3-5 mm ferrite spacer lamination for on-metal UHF performance without changi...
Air interface envelope
HF 13.56 MHz — ISO 14443 Type A/B (MIFARE Classic 1K, MIFARE DESFire EV3, NTAG 424 DNA) or ISO 15693 (I-CODE SLIX2). UHF 860-960 MHz — ISO 18000-63 / GS1 EPC Gen2v2 (Imp...
Next step
Ready to move forward? Start your inquiry to get specific answers for this project.
Quote RFID coin tags- Housing and durability
-
- Epoxy-encapsulated disc or injection-moulded ABS / PC disc with ultrasonic weld seam.
- IP67 (HF authentication) or IP68 (laundry, aquatic leisure) ingress rating, -25 °C to +85 °C service.
- Attach methods
-
- 3M VHB adhesive (3M 4910F / 5952) to non-porous host surfaces.
- M3 / M4 through-hole screw mount via central bore (tool handles, gauges).
- Read range
-
- HF contactless tap — 0-40 mm against phone / reader head.
- UHF in free space 0.5-2 m; with ferrite spacer on steel tool body 0.3-1.5 m.
- Crypto options (HF)
-
- NTAG 424 DNA SUN message with CMAC — 1-tap authentication of consumer product / loyalty token.
- MIFARE DESFire EV3 AES mutual auth for staff tokens and regulated cashless wallets.
- Tool-crib / FOD use case
-
- Tool-return handshake at portal ≤ 100 ms per tool; batch read 20-40 tools on a tray.
- Ties into aerospace FOD programmes where 100% tool accountability is required before closing a panel.
- Loyalty / cashless use case
-
- Gym / spa / pool / locker token; amusement-park pay-per-ride cashless wallet; laundry-room wash-cycle credit.
- Tap-time budget ≤ 300 ms including reader auth + POS round trip.
- Regulatory / conformance envelope
-
- FCC Part 15.225 (HF) and Part 15.247 / 15.249 (UHF); RED 2014/53/EU; ISED RSS-210 / RSS-247.
- Payment-adjacent tokens respect PCI PTS domain separation — the coin does not carry cardholder data, it addresses a tokenised wallet at the POS.
- Materials compliance
-
- ABS / PC housing halogen-free; REACH SVHC screen; RoHS 3 (2015/863) compliance on chip + antenna foil + housing.
- Food-contact-incidental grade epoxy available for hospitality and kitchen-tool variants (FDA 21 CFR 175.300).
- Integration / encoding
-
- Factory TID is read-only per ISO 18000-63; EPC / NDEF payload locked with lock / permalock command after WMS encode.
- EPCIS 2.0 commissioning event writes GIAI / GRAI / SGTIN or token-ID into ERP on first read.
- Mounting matrix
-
- Five mount paths: M3 / M4 screw via central bore, blind rivet, 3M VHB adhesive, weld-on 316L carrier plate, recess embed with structural adhesive pot.
- Metal host → on-metal UHF spacer variant fixed by screw / rivet / weld; non-metal host → any mount. Adhesive is the no-drill path, recess embed the flush path.
Commercial terms
- MOQ
- Varies by SKU — stock items from 100 pcs; custom production typically 200-1,000 pcs
- Lead time
- Production 2-3 weeks after artwork and encoding sign-off; reorders on a 3-4 week cycle
- Samples
- Free samples and RF test report with every order; courier at customer cost
- Payment
- 50% T/T deposit, 50% before shipment; Net 30/60 for established accounts; LC for large orders
- Shipping
- FOB Shenzhen / Yantian; DHL, FedEx or EMS air freight; sea LCL / FCL for volume
- Response
- Itemized quote within one business day, Mon-Fri (UTC+8)
Why pocket-scale assets are the hardest items to keep track of
Nobody audits a pocket. That is the whole problem: hand tools, gauges and tokens are small enough to walk, valuable enough to matter, and numerous enough that manual logging quietly gives up. If the estate is a tool crib, start with the RFID tool-tracking solution — then come back for the disc that makes it stick.
- Hand tools, gauges, jigs and calibration instruments are the most frequently lost and borrowed-without-return items in any industrial operation — 10-15% annual tool-loss rates are routinely reported in manufacturing and MRO under manual logging.
- Barcode labels on hand tools are destroyed within days by grease, abrasion and solvent exposure, and manual barcode check-out imposes 30-60 s per transaction — so workers bypass the system and 40-60 % of tool movements go unrecorded.
- Calibration-controlled instruments must stay inside their calibration date and chain of custody; losing either creates quality escapes and audit findings under ISO 9001 7.1.5 / ISO 17025.
- Aerospace FOD programmes require 100 % tool accountability before closing an aircraft panel, while leisure and loyalty operators fight the same fight in chlorine: paper tickets and magstripe cards fail exactly where a sealed coin token keeps reading.
HF vs UHF coin tag — picking the right air interface
Same disc, two radios, and no wrong answer — only wrong pairings: HF taps, UHF sweeps. The full portal-physics argument lives in the HF vs UHF asset-tracking comparison; the coin-sized version is below.
Choose HF (ISO 14443 / ISO 15693) when…
- The read is a deliberate tap — smartphone or reader head at 0-40 mm.
- Authentication is the point: NTAG 424 DNA runs AES-128 SUN messages with a per-tap CMAC tied to the factory UID, on Common Criteria EAL4-certified silicon (per NXP).
- The workflow is cashless leisure, loyalty or staff ID — mature POS integration and a simple phone tap path.
- The host is metal but the read is close anyway — HF tolerates a metal boundary better at tap range than an unshielded UHF disc.
Choose UHF (ISO 18000-63 / GS1 Gen2v2) when…
- Reads must be hands-free — 0.5-2 m in free space, a full tool tray in one portal sweep.
- The programme is tool-crib, FOD or MRO rack accountability at volume.
- On-metal mounting is planned — the ferrite-spacer variant holds 0.3-1.5 m on a steel tool body.
- Payload governance runs through lock / permalock EPC writes in a WMS / EPCIS pipeline.
- Dual-interface coins carry both an HF and a UHF antenna on the same 30 mm disc, at the cost of a slightly thicker 4 mm profile and a roughly 20-30 % free-space UHF read-range reduction.
One disc, five mounts — matching fastener to host surface
The coin's pitch is that it goes on anything — but 'anything' spans a lacquered gauge handle, a chlorinated locker door, a bare steel weldment and a wooden crate, and each wants a different fastener. Pick by host surface and service life; the disc doesn't care which you choose, but your re-tagging budget does. (Casting into fresh concrete is its own discipline — that's the concrete-embed tag.)
| Mount | Best host surfaces | Hardware | Field notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M3 / M4 screw (central bore) | Tool handles, gauges, jigs, racking — anything that can be drilled and tapped | Stainless cap screw + thread-locker | Strongest serviceable mount; shrugs off vibration and solvents; removable for re-issue when the host retires |
| Blind rivet (central bore) | Sheet metal, bins, totes and crates with one-side access | Stainless blind rivet sized to the bore | Permanent and tamper-resistant; faster than screws on high-volume lines; drill out to remove |
| 3M VHB adhesive (4910F / 5952) | Non-porous, flat, clean surfaces — coated metal, glass, ABS / PC housings | VHB pad or two-part structural epoxy | No drilling and no torque spec; degrease before bonding; low-surface-energy plastics (PP / PE) bond poorly — prefer a recess embed there |
| Weld-on carrier (316L stainless variant) | Bare structural steel where drilling is prohibited — frames, fixtures, weldments | Tack-welded 316L carrier plate; disc retained by screw or epoxy | Keeps weld heat away from the chip; specify the stainless disc variant and clear the weld procedure with site QA |
| Recess embed | Wood, plastic and composite bodies — handles, pallets, crates, fixtures | Drilled recess + structural adhesive pot | Disc sits flush with the surface, nothing to snag on gloves or conveyors; permanent by design |
Diameter series — what each millimetre buys
Diameter is antenna budget: more millimetres buy more aperture and more range, and cost you fitment on the smallest hosts. The series below shares its resin and ratings with the wider epoxy tag family; for permanently steel-bound estates, read it alongside the anti-metal tag line.
- The whole family holds the same envelope regardless of diameter: 2-4 mm thick, 0.8-3.5 g, epoxy or ABS housing rated IP67 / IP68 per IEC 60529, -25 °C to +85 °C service. Diameter changes the radio, not the rating.
| Diameter | Air interface fit | Mounting compatibility | Typical duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ø 12 mm | HF 13.56 MHz — tap range | Adhesive or recess embed only (no central bore) | Smallest hosts: instrument handles, under-label authentication anchors |
| Ø 20 mm | HF; UHF with reduced range | Adhesive, embed, M3 screw bore | Hand tools, locker and loyalty tokens, tight housings |
| Ø 25 mm | HF or UHF | Adhesive, embed, M3 / M4 screw, blind rivet | The general-purpose default across tool-crib and leisure estates |
| Ø 30 mm | HF, UHF or dual-interface | All five mounts, incl. weld-on carrier | Longest UHF reach in the family — 0.5-2 m free space; portal-first programmes |
Where RFID coin tags earn their place in the catalogue
Six verticals, one SKU family, one recurring pattern: wherever the host item is small, valuable and mobile, the disc is the cheapest component in the accountability loop.
Tool crib & FOD
Hand tools, torque wrenches, jigs and fixtures with a ≤ 100 ms per-tag portal handshake — aerospace programmes get 100 % tool accountability before a panel closes.
Calibration-controlled inventory
Gauges, micrometers and hardness testers: the coin carries the asset-ID that binds each instrument to its current calibration certificate and next-due date.
Healthcare small-asset
Endoscopes, surgical trays and patient-side instruments — mounted through a tray attachment bore or epoxied to a handle, with UDI traceability under 21 CFR Part 830.
Leisure, loyalty & cashless
Gym, spa, pool and laundromat tokens; amusement-park pay-per-ride wallets. HF tap against the POS with PCI PTS domain separation kept clean.
Product authentication
An NTAG 424 DNA coin glued under a product label or inside a luxury hang-tag — every consumer tap writes a per-tap CMAC into the brand-protection backend.
Events & access
Conference delegate tokens, multi-day passes and staff credentials — the disc strings on a lanyard or fixes to a wristband bracket.
How to roll out an RFID coin programme without breaking calibration, payment or privacy
Ten weeks from mounting matrix to steady state, if the boring parts happen in order. Below: the boring parts, in order.
- Week 1 — profile choice
Run a matrix of candidate host items (tool, instrument, token, product) against read-range and authentication needs; lock air interface (HF / UHF / dual) and chip choice (MIFARE DESFire EV3 / NTAG 424 DNA / I-CODE SLIX2 / Impinj M750) per SKU.
- Weeks 2-3 — encoding workflow
Stand up POS / WMS encode bench that writes a locked EPC / NDEF, issues a factory lock / permalock, and commits an EPCIS commissioning event to ERP. Validate the 100 % lock rate on the first 5,000 coins before scale-up.
- Weeks 4-6 — portal + POS deployment
Deploy UHF portal at the tool-crib door (tool-FOD) or HF readers at leisure POS. Tune antenna power so portal reads the full tray with < 0.5 % miss rate and no read-leak through the wall to the adjacent zone.
- Weeks 7-10 — compliance wrap
Tie the coin ID to ISO 9001 7.1.5 / ISO 17025 calibration records for the tool case, or to the PCI-scoped wallet for the cashless-leisure case. File DPIA / Art. 13 notice for the consumer-authentication case. Bring in internal audit for the first quarterly close.
- Month 4+ — scale and reuse
Operating context extends to tool-crib, FOD, cashless-leisure and product-authentication programmes — review periodicity, refresh windows and audit obligations vary by vertical and are documented per estate. scale from pilot cell to 100,000 – 5,000,000 coins across multi-site operations, with EPCIS event stream → ERP → CMMS / POS / brand-protection analytics tying each coin to an asset, wallet or product identity.
- Lock the air interface first: UHF on-metal coin for tool-crib / FOD, NTAG 424 DNA for consumer authentication, MIFARE DESFire EV3 for staff / cashless wallets, I-CODE SLIX2 for library / document loops.
- Permalock the EPC / NDEF payload straight after WMS / POS encode — an unlocked coin is the single biggest failure mode in a brand-protection or cashless pilot.
- Keep PCI PTS domain separation: the coin addresses a tokenised wallet at the POS and carries no cardholder data; the authorisation path stays inside the PCI-scoped reader.
- Register tool-crib coins against ISO 9001 7.1.5 / ISO 17025 calibration records so the EPCIS event stream is the single source of truth for next-due date and last-used job.
- For consumer-facing loyalty or authentication, publish a privacy notice covering the tap-event payload (ID + timestamp + venue) under GDPR Art. 13 or the regional equivalent — data minimisation is easy because the coin carries no PII.
- Plan for loss: a lost coin costs USD 1-3 in the batch; the host tool, instrument or wallet value is what the coin exists to protect.
Useful next pages
Use these linked product, guide and comparison pages to keep the next click specific and practical.
Related small-form and retail/electronics RFID tags
Small-form disc, eyelet, hang-tag, PCB and on-metal IT-asset tags that cover the catalogue tail of space-constrained RFID deployments.
FAQ
Is the RFID coin tag waterproof enough for pool and laundry use?
Yes — the epoxy-encapsulated variant is rated IP68 per IEC 60529 and tolerates -25 °C to +85 °C plus typical chlorinated pool chemistry and 80 °C commercial dish-wash or laundry cycles. For continuous chemical exposure beyond that envelope, a 316L stainless or PTFE-overmoulded variant is available.
Can a coin tag carry cashless-payment credit?
Not directly. The coin carries a token-ID that addresses a wallet at the POS; the wallet holds the balance inside a PCI PTS-scoped system. This domain separation keeps the coin outside PCI DSS scope while still delivering a 300 ms tap-to-pay leisure experience.
How do I pick between HF and UHF for a loyalty / authentication programme?
HF (ISO 14443 / ISO 15693) is the natural choice when the customer taps a phone or POS head at 0-40 mm range and you want NTAG 424 DNA-grade authentication with a per-tap CMAC. UHF (ISO 18000-63 / GS1 Gen2v2) is the natural choice when you need handsfree portal reads at 0.5-2 m — FOD, tool-crib, MRO rack accountability. Dual-interface coins exist and cost a modest read-range penalty.
What is the MOQ and lead time for RFID coin tags?
RFID coin tags run at MOQ 500-1,000 units for standard disc SKUs and 2,000-5,000 units for custom-shape, logo-embedded or colour-matched builds. Standard lead time is 3-4 weeks with a commodity NFC / UHF chip; a 2-week pilot build of 100-500 units is available to validate mounting and encoding before scale-up.
Which mounting method should I use on a metal surface?
On metal, specify the on-metal UHF variant with integrated ferrite spacer (0.3-1.5 m read on a steel tool body) and fix it by M3 / M4 screw, blind rivet or the weld-on 316L carrier. Adhesive works on coated metal within the housing's service envelope; bare structural steel that cannot be drilled is the weld-on carrier's case. HF coins tolerate a metal boundary better at tap range and suit tap-only workflows.
Can RFID coin tags be removed and reused on another asset?
Screw-mounted coin tags are designed for removal and re-issue: back out the screw when the host retires and re-register the coin's ID against the new asset in the EPCIS / asset system — the locked EPC travels with the coin, not the host. Rivet, weld-on and recess-embed mounts are permanent by design, and adhesive removal usually sacrifices the tape pad rather than the tag.
Do RFID coin tags ship pre-encoded, or do we encode on site?
Both paths are supported. Factory encoding writes the EPC / NDEF payload, applies lock / permalock per ISO 18000-63 / GS1 Gen2v2, and delivers an EPCIS commissioning file keyed to the read-only factory TID. On-site encoding suits programmes that assign IDs at issuance — either way, lock the payload immediately after writing.
Can the coin tag carry a logo or serial number?
Yes — laser-engraved sequential numbering and pad-printed logos are available on the epoxy and ABS disc faces, and engraving survives the same abrasion and chemical exposure as the housing. Colour-matched housings and logo-embedded builds fall under the custom MOQ tier of 2,000-5,000 units.
Sources & references
Primary standards, OEM datasheets and regulatory documents cited by this article. All URLs were verified on the access date shown below.
- ISO/IEC 14443 — Identification cards — Contactless integrated circuit cards — Proximity cards
Parts 1-4 specify the 13.56 MHz proximity air interface used by MIFARE Classic / DESFire / Plus / NTAG 424 coins.
- ISO/IEC 15693 — Identification cards — Contactless integrated circuit cards — Vicinity cards
Vicinity air interface behind I-CODE SLIX / SLIX2 library, document and token applications.
- GS1 EPC Radio-Frequency Identity Protocols — Generation-2 UHF RFID — Specification for RFID Air Interface (EPC Gen2v2)
Aligned with ISO 18000-63; governs lock / permalock behaviour used on the UHF coin payload.
- 47 CFR Part 15 — Radio Frequency Devices
Subpart C §15.225 (13.56 MHz) and §15.247 / §15.249 (UHF ISM) cover coin-tag emitter / reader certification in the US.
- Directive 2014/53/EU — Radio Equipment Directive (RED)
CE conformity for HF / UHF RFID readers paired with coin tags in the EU.
- SAE AIR5562 — Foreign Object Damage / Debris (FOD) Prevention Program
Baseline aerospace FOD programme requirements including 100 % tool accountability patterns addressed by an RFID coin on every hand tool.
- NTAG 424 DNA — Secure NFC T4T Compliant IC (product page and NT4H2421Gx data sheet)
AES-128 cryptography, SUN message authentication and Common Criteria EAL4 certification for hardware and software — the authentication-coin chip claims on this page.
- IEC 60529:1989+AMD1:1999+AMD2:2013 — Degrees of protection provided by enclosures (IP Code)
Defines the IP Code classification behind the IP67 / IP68 housing ratings quoted for the epoxy and ABS disc variants.
Proud Tek is a Shenzhen-based RFID & NFC manufacturer supplying hotel chains, transit operators, event venues and retail brands worldwide. Every order includes free samples, RF testing and dedicated project support.
Get a Quick Quote
Tell us about your project and we'll respond within one business day. Fields marked (asterisk) are required.