Olympic gold medals are 93% silver
Next week in London, athletes from around the world will
go for the gold. But as it turns out, the Olympic gold medal is mostly made of
silver.
Weighing in at 412 grams -- or roughly the weight of a
can of green beans -- the gold medal is made up of only 1.34%, or about 6 grams
of gold.
The rest is comprised of 93% silver and 6% copper.
Melted down and sold at today's market value, those raw
materials would be worth about $650.
In comparison, the silver medal -- made up of 93% silver
and 7% copper --- would be worth about $335. The bronze medal, mostly made of
copper, would be worth less than $5.
The Olympic games have not handed out solid gold medals
since the 1912 summer games in Stockholm, Sweden.
The 2012 Olympic medals were made from nearly nine tons
of metal from Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah Copper mine in Salt Lake City and its
Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia.
British artist David Watkins created this year's design
on the front of the medal. The back depicts Nike, the Greek Goddess of Victory
stepping out of the Parthenon.
The Royal Mint in South Wales pressed the medals in a
10-hour process that requires a 1,400°F furnace and nearly 1,000 tons of weight
on a special press.
The 2,300 Olympic medals are currently being guarded at
the Tower of London until the games begin, July 27.
Of course a medal has more symbolic value to the Olympic
champions and their fans. Resales are rare, but when they do happen, one can
command exponentially more than its makeup.
A gold medal worn by Mark Wells, a member of the 1980
"Miracle on Ice" U.S. men's hockey team, garnered $310,700 at auction
two years ago.
Swimmer Anthony Ervin, a medalist in 2000, auctioned his
gold to raise $17,000 for victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004. And a
medal worn by Ken Spain, a member of the 1968 U.S. Basketball team sold for
$26,000 last year.
Not all medals are an easy sell though.
Track and field star Tommie Smith, made famous when he
raised his fist in a black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games, was hit by a
media backlash when he put his gold medal up for auction in 2010.
He still has the medal, after no one met the minimum
$250,000 bid.
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