Classic | Opus

Recently, Wachovia Bank sponsored a national conference for women. They selected as a theme The Life of Sacajawea, the Native American woman who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their famous exploration of America’s west. Each conference attendee would receive a special gift that included a DVD depicting the life of Sacajawea and a Sacajawea gold dollar. The DVD was packaged with an informational brochure in a gold tin case along with the coin glued to a printed carrier. Each finished case was sealed with a hand tied decorative ribbon and commemorative label. Classic Graphics was selected to produce the printing with Opus Direct providing the kit assembly and distribution to conference sites.While the presentation of each kit was extremely important, the addition of U.S. currency made this product most unique and presented the most challenges in assembly. 30,000 coins were purchased by the bank from the U.S. Federal Reserve and were in uncirculated, mint condition. They arrived at Opus Direct via armored car, were counted and placed in secure storage. Every stage of assembly had to be tightly monitored. Gloves were worn by production workers and the gold tins were carefully wiped of any marks following assembly. The production line was monitored by a supervisor as well as by surveillance cameras. Kits were distributed to four locations over the course of 30 days. In advance of kitting, multiple types of fugitive glue were tested for just the right adhesion – too much would tear the paper and not enough would risk the coin coming loose. Test samples were packaged and shipped to homes in order to simulate the handling they might receive.