Showing posts with label Olympic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympic. Show all posts

Thursday, July 26, 2012

London Olympic medals the most expensive yet!

The Olympic 2012 starts on Friday, so let's check out the coveted gold medals.

This year's Olympic gold medal weighs about 410g and contains only 6 g of gold or, about 1.34% of its weight. But the doubling in prices of gold and silver since the 2008 Games in Beijing ensure that the medals are the most expensive in Olympic history.


2012 Olympic medals
The gold medal consists of 1.34% gold, 92.5% silver and 6.16% copper.
Image: AFP/sport.xin.msn.com


The gold, silver and copper, mined by global mining giant Rio Tinto in Mongolia and the United States are now kept in tight security at the Tower of London. The eight tonnes haul arrive at the tower on July 2.

    No. of medals           : 4,700 for Olympic and Paralympic
    Gold medal weight   : 410 g
    Gold content             : 6 g
    Gold medal diameter: 85 mm
    Thickness       : 7 mm
    Designed by   : British artist David Watkins
    Maker             : Royal Mint (also producer of Britain's currency)
    Front              : Greek goddess of victory, Nike
    Reverse         : London Games logo & star motif

By comparison:-
  • Beijing 2088 gold medal weighs 200 g. As heavy as your typical Blackberry set.
  • Vancouver Winter Games 2010 gold medal was 576 g in weight! (that's like hanging an iPad on your neck)


  • By today's silver and gold prices, the Gold Medal cost about RM2,000. But the actual net worth is priceless.