So exactly what is in an Olympic Gold Medal?

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Friday, July 27, 2012

The obvious answer is: gold. Actually there's only 1.34% of gold in the medals being handed out at the London Olympics. The gold medals are actually 93% silver and 5.66% copper. CNN reports that if a gold medal-winning Olympian should decide to melt down his or her medal, it would be worth only $650. Silver medals are 93% silver and 7% copper and are worth about $335. Bronze medals are most made of copper and worth about $5. But that's better than the 2000 Sydney Games, at least when it comes to the dollar value of the metal in the medals. The Wall Street Journal reports that the gold medals handed out in Sydney were worth just $80. In addition to being very small, gold and silver prices were quite low then. • The most valuable gold medal in recent years was given at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. At today's prices, those gold medals are worth about $,1000, according to the Wall Street Journal. • The London Olympics gold medals may be mostly made of silver, but they are beautiful. Designed by British artist David Watkins, the circular form is a metaphor for the world. • The front of the medals depicts Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, stepping out of the Parthenon to arrive at the host city. (The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery for all Summer Olympics.) The design for the reverse side of the medals features five main symbolic elements: 1. The dished background suggests a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre. 2. The core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern city. 3. The grid brings both a pulling together and sense of outreach on the design, an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes' achievements and effort. 4. The River Thames is a symbol for London. 5. The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design and emphasizing its focus on the center and reinforcing the sense of "place" as in a map inset.