How Much Gold Is There In Your Favorite Trophy?

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While we know that an Olympic medal contains about 6 grams of 24 karat gold, how much gold do the most prestigious trophies around the world really contain? That appears to be a fair question, right? Here you can get all the answers to these geeky questions.

1. The Olympic Medals

The top three finishers of each Olympic competition are awarded the gold, silver, and bronze medals, respectively. While the name seems to imply it, Olympic gold medals are not 100% gold. The specific composition and design of Olympic medals is determined by the host city’s organizing committee. However, the minimum standards must be maintained:

  • Gold and silver medals are at least 92.5% silver.

  • Gold medals must be plated with at least 6 grams of gold.

  • All Olympic medals must be at least 3 mm thick and at least 60 mm in diameter.

  • Bronze medals are bronze, an alloy of copper and usually tin.

The silver medals at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics had a purity of 99.9%, according to Olympic.org. A gold medal was a silver medal plated with 6 grams of gold, while the bronze was made of an alloy of 90% copper and 10% zinc.

Eco friendly Medal

The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics featured eco-friendly metals with the gold free of mercury contamination. Mercury and gold are notoriously difficult elements to separate. The sterling silver used for the silver medals was partly recycled (about 30 percent by mass.) Part of the copper used to make the bronze for the bronze medals was recycled as well.

2.  The FIFA world cup trophy

As the excitement around the FIFA World Cup grabs the attention of all sports fans around the world, gold bugs are looking at the trophy itself, which is not only made of gold but is also considered to be one of the most valuable sports prizes out there. The current FIFA World Cup trophy is made out of 13.5 pounds of 18-carat gold.The dimensions of the trophy, which depicts two athletes holding up the Earth in their hands, is about 14.5 inches tall, with a base of 5.1 inches in diameter.The value of the trophy varies, with USA Today reporting that it could be worth $20 million, while other estimates point to $150,000. Kitco.com’s scrap calculator prices the trophy at more than $188,000.The coveted trophy has been used since 1974 and was designed by an Italian artists Silvio Gazzaniga, who competed against 52 other sculptors.There are reports that the trophy is hollow inside. Before each World Cup, the trophy gets re-polished by Italian company GDE Bertoni and the previous winner gets to keep a gold-plated replica of the coveted prize.

3. ICC Cricket world cup

The ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy is presented to the winners of the cricket World Cup. The current trophy was created for the 1999 championships, and was the first permanent prize in the tournament’s history; before this, different trophies were made for each World Cup. The trophy was designed by Paul Marsden of Garrard & co and produced in London by a team of craftsmen from Garrard & Co over a period of two months.The current trophy is made from silver and gold and features a golden globe held up by three silver columns. The columns, shaped as stumps and bails, represent the three fundamental aspect cricket: batting, bowling and fielding, while the globe characterises a cricket ball. It stands 60 cm high and weighs approximately 11.0567 kilograms. The names of the previous winners are engraved on the base of the trophy, with space for a total of twenty inscriptions.The original trophy is kept by the ICC. A replica which only differs in inscriptions is permanently awarded to the winning team.

4. The Oscar lady

On a Sunday evening, nominated movie stars will show up at Hollywood’s Kodak Theater hoping to walk away clutching one of those glowing statuettes. However, there is more to that golden guy than meets the eye.When they pick up their trophies, the winning celebs are toting around 8.5 pounds of metal. Oscar is 13.5 inches (34 centimeters) tall.The Oscar statuettes, officially dubbed the Academy Award of Merit, have a 24-karat gold plating on their surface.Beneath the gold, the statuette’s interior is a metal mixture called Britannium, also called Britannia metal. It is an alloy of tin (93 percent), antimony (5 percent), and copper (2 percent). It is known for its smooth texture and silvery appearance.Though this mixture of metals has been the standard for the shiny trophies for several decades, it has not always been the composition of choice. The statuettes presented at first at the Academy awards ceremonies on May 16, 1929, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, were gold-plated solid bronze.

5. The Wimbledon

The Championships Wimbledon: Gentleman’s Singles Trophy, first presented by the All England Club in 1887, is made of silver gilt, stands 18 inches high, and has a diameter of 7.5 inches. The Ladies’ Singles Trophy, a silver salver, was first presented in 1886. It is made of partly gilded sterling silver and is 18.75 inches in diameter.

6. Claret Jug

In Golf, The Open Championship trophy is the most coveted one. The famed silver Claret Jug (or the Golf Champion Trophy) was originally produced in 1873 by Mackay Cunningham & Co., of Edinburgh. The champion receives a replica. Famous Americans such as Bobby Jones, Walter Hagan, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods have won Claret Jugs over the years.

So, are there any trophies or even medals out there made from solid gold? That’s a pretty interesting question. Isn’t it ? Well, the answer is yes –

There are gold medals that are made from solid gold, such as the Congressional Gold Medal and the Nobel Prize Medal. Before 1980, the Nobel Prize medal was made from 23-carat gold. Newer Nobel Prize medals are 18-carat green gold-plated with 24-carat gold.

  • The congressional gold medal

After a Congressional Gold Medal bill has been approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President, officials of the U.S. Mint meet with the sponsors of the legislation and members of the honoree’s family to discuss possible designs for the medal.A series of designs and sketches are then produced for consideration and comment by the Commission of Fine Arts, and subsequently the Secretary of the Treasury, who makes the final decision on the design.Once a design is agreed upon and approved the design is sculpted, a die is made and the medal is struck at the Philadelphia Mint.

And the time for the big reveal for all the science freaks out there. Yes, the novel prize gold medal is made from pure gold.

  • Nobel Gold medal

The Nobel gold medals are made of an 18-carat, green-colored gold core, plated with 24 carat gold. At over six ounces, the value for just the gold in this medal puts it at almost $8,000. But the price of gold plays a small role in the true value. Factors such as the prize category, and most of all, the recipient, have the biggest influence on the value of these medals.

 

 

 

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