How Did Mardi Gras Coins Become Part of the Party?

Mardi Gras roars in Tuesday, February 12th, bringing with it all the revelry, parades, and a bit of debauchery that has become synonymous with the event. Once you’ve experienced Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you’ll be hooked on this annual gala.

The first organized Mardi Gras celebration in what would become the United States took place in Mobile, Alabama. The event was conducted by French settlers in the year 1703.

There are many traditions associated with the celebration of Mardi Gras. Since the 1800’s parades have been held featuring the many “krewes” of Carnival. The riders of these parade floats would throw small toys and strings of beads to the gathered crowds who shouted the familiar “Throw me something, Mister!”

One of the relatively recent items added to the trinkets thrown from Mardi Gras floats were aluminum coins known as “doubloons” featuring the identities of the individual krewes. The origin of the Mardi Gras Doubloon reaches back to the 1960’s when a New Orleans artist named H. Alvin Sharpe got word that the king of krewes, the Rex Organization, which represented the School of Design, was looking for something new to throw during parades. As the story goes, Sharpe came up with the idea of minted aluminum coins and pitched his concept to the head of the Rex Organization Darwin Fenner. However, the idea of throwing aluminum coins was deemed unsafe and shot down. Sharpe showed up at Fenner’s office, walked into the room and threw a handful of the proposed coins at Fenner. The doubloons bounced harmlessly off Fenner and with that the idea was a go!

The order that first year was a modest 3,000 coins with the head of Rex on one side and the arms of the School of Design on the other. As a precaution if the coins were not popular, they omitted the date so the coins could be used the following year if necessary.

But the coins were a huge success and by the following year a much larger order was placed. Within a few years the Mardi Gras doubloon had become a treasured token of the Mardi Gras celebration.

While the parades have changed with the times and kept in step with modern technological advancements, the doubloon has flourished. A variation of the aluminum Mardi Gras doubloon are Mardi Gras chocolate coins which feature everything from traditional symbolism, messages like “Laissez les bons temps rouler” (Let the good times roll), to more risque designs.

One thing’s for sure… attendance at Mardi Gras is an experience like no other. So bead up, put on your best party hat, and get ready to shout “Throw me something, Mister!”


Pam Geers

The customer service was awesome and the chocolates were fantastic. We thought we purchased more than we would need, but every single coin was eaten. Thank you so much.


Chinese New Year – Red, Gold, Snakes & Chocolate Coins

Of all the traditional Chinese holidays, none is bigger than the “Spring Festival” or as it is more commonly known, Chinese New Year. The centuries-old tradition of Chinese New Year is celebrated for fifteen days, this year beginning on February 10th. Chinese New Year is a time of forgiveness, renewal and wishes of peace and happiness for the coming year.

2013 is recognized as the “Year of the Snake” in Chinese custom and countries with large Chinese populations will decorate extensively with the Snake theme in the traditional colors of red and gold.

One of the most recognized customs relating to Chinese New Year is that of giving money to children in small red envelopes. Over the years, the popularity of using gold foiled chocolate coins has become synonymous with the two-week event. Chinese New Year now accounts for the sale of over 15 million chocolate coins worldwide, adorned with decorative symbols of the incoming year’s representative animal. From the days of waxy, dull-flavored chocolate, these coins have evolved into high-quality offerings often produced with some of Europe’s finest chocolates.

Chinese New year traditions vary in different parts of China and across the rest of the world. Some of the most typical traditions include:

New Year’s Eve Dinner
The eve of the New Year is a very important night in the Chinese culture and is usually a reunion, brining together relatives from near and far. Fish and dumplings are the two most often served dishes which represent prosperity.

Fireworks
The use of fireworks in the Chinese celebration symbolizes the driving away of evil spirits. It is believed that the first person to light a firework after the stroke of midnight on Chinese New Year Eve will receive a bounty of good luck.

Red Envelopes
Red envelopes containing money are given to children during Chinese New Year to ward off evil and keep the children healthy.
In recent years, chocolate coins have also been handed out in these small red paper envelopes.

Cleaning
Just prior to the start of the Chinese New Year, people will do a complete cleaning of their homes and all housewares. This practice is meant as a sort of “out with the old, in with the new.”

Decoration
After the cleaning has been completed, the process of decorating for the incoming New Year begins. Red is the traditional color of Chines New Year. The most popular decorations for New Year are lanterns, paper cuttings, banners featuring the incoming year’s animal symbol, and upside-down “fu”, the Chinese symbols or luck. It is presented upside-down to symbolize “luck arriving.”

Happy Chinese New Year 2013!


Jeri McCullough

We just got them and they look GREAT!! The ability to completely customize was awesome. All of those great reviews were one of the first things I noticed on your website. Your service is a definite selling point and you are certainly doing business the way it should be done – a WIN WIN for everyone! I am so glad I found you. It has been such a PLEASURE working with you! Thanks so much for a surprisingly wonderful experience!! You have exceeded our expectations in every way.


L. Smith

We received our poker chip coins and they are fantastic – we love them! They’ll be a great addition to our annual meeting is Las Vegas.


Chris R.

We had been looking for chocolate gold coins to pass out at our family Christmas party to commemorate the story of St. Nickolas, but we didn’t want to use the cheap kind that one finds from most novelty candy sources. Everyone was impressed at how nicely they were made – they looked incredible! The chocolate was excellent – we tried them as soon as they arrived in their excellent packing. Thanks so much for producing such a wonderful product!


E. Hinkson

Family Golden Jubilee. The entire family enjoyed the chocolate coins, for the design and excellent quality. Thank you.


Joni Gumina

No worry here, perfect in every way. Will be reordering quite soon. Chocolate high quality, well worth money spent.


KC

The chocolate was delicious and the coins were perfect! It made our party a great success 🙂


Jeanne Whitney

Loved the product and so easy to order online even with customized printing…and the bonus is they taste great.


Ruthi

I got the chocolates before the promised date. I ordered them for my wedding favors but I also ordered some extra to try. They’re delicious! I’m sure my guests will love them too!


Top 10 Uses for Chocolate Coins in 2013

Chocolate coins are not just for the holidays anymore. With high-quality Belgian chocolate coins now available with endless customization options, there are great new uses for these delicious disks. Here’s our Top 10 ways to use chocolate coins in the coming new year that you may not have thought about.

1) Wedding Guest Gifts
As the Spring wedding season approaches, don’t forget to give a sweet than you to guests at your reception. Personalized chocolate coins are a favor everyone can enjoy, young or old. Make them uniquely yours for a memorable guest gift.

2) Tradeshow Giveaways
Spring also signals the start of corporate tradeshow season. Trying to get visitors to your booth? Entice them with rich Belgian chocolate customized with your company’s branding.

3) St. Patricks Day Events
St. Patrick’s Day has become a huge party day and what better way to celebrate than with a pot o’ gold featuring delicious chocolate coins. From traditional shamrock and Slainte designs to more <ahem> “festive” designs. Chocolate coins are sure to liven up even the wildest St. Paddy’s event.

4) Birthday Party Favors
Who doesn’t love chocolate? Especially on their birthday! Add the birthday boy or girl’s age to their special coins and even their name. People LOVE seeing their name in chocolate…especially young children who are so proud to give away chocolate cons with their name on them.

5) Breast Cancer Awareness Giveaways
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and pink chocolate coins are a great way to help support this important cause. Use them at rallys, walks, and other charity sponsored events. Foiled Again! Chocolate Coins offers a wide variety of breast cancer awareness designs, perfect for any event.

6) Hotel Turndowns
Chocolate coins beautifully imprinted with a hotel logo make the perfect guest room turndown treat. Two of these sumptuous Belgian chocolate treats on a guest pillow make a welcomed impression and help extend the hotel’s brand.

7) Employee Incentives & Recognitions
Chocolate coins are a low-cost way of letting your employees know how valuable they are or helping to recognize individual or group achievements. Use motivational designs like “Way to Go!”, “You Rock!” or “Teamwork” to support internal company programs.

8) School Fundraisers
Chocolate is a terrific fundraiser tool. Sell school-branded chocolate coins in elegant organza drawstring pouches to raise money for school programs or to promote school functions.

9) Halloween Treats
Want to giveaway treats this Halloween that are more unique than a Fun-Size Snickers? Choose from a huge selection of spooky Halloween images for chocolate coins that will make your house the one the kids talk about this year.

10) Holiday Celebrations
Of course, who could forget the traditional connection between chocolate and the year-end holidays of Hanukkah and Christmas. From Hanukkah gelt to Santa-emblazoned Belgian chocolate coins… there’s just no beating chocolate as a holiday mainstay.


Jessica

The chocolate coins were a HUGE hit at our wedding!! The guests loved them. They shipped so fast and looked wonderful with our custom wedding logo on them. Scott made sure everything fit properly on the coin and the end result was great!! Thanks so much!


Jessica

Chocolate was fantastic, and the service was phenomenal!! Scott went out of his way to help and make sure we got our order by the date we needed. We will definitely order from Foiled Again for our next Sector function.


Watch Us on Food Network’s Unwrapped Dec. 22 & 23

Unwrapped Logo

We were selected by the Food Network a few years back for their “Holiday Favorites” episode and we just got word that they’ll be re-airing the episode right before Christmas. Now’s your chance to get a behind-the-scenes of the making of our chocolate coins!

Here’s the schedule:

Food Network’s Unwrapped “Holiday Favorites”

* Dec. 22 9pm ET/PT

* Dec. 22 Midnight ET/PT

* Dec. 23 4pm ET/PT