I’m glad you asked, because this is where it gets good. Today’s “gold” medal is mostly silver. I’m serious. It’s like a silver medal that went to a fancy dress party.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has rules for this. A gold medal must be at least 92.5% silver. Then they plate it with at least 6 grams of real gold. That’s it. A thin, shiny jacket over a silver core.
So you’re basically getting a very expensive piece of jewelry. Not a solid gold brick you can use to pay off a mortgage. Sorry to burst your bubble, but those chomping Olympians are just gnawing on silver.
Wait, what about silver and bronze medals?
Oh, those are even more honest. The silver medal? That’s actually solid silver. It has to be at least 92.5% pure. So the silver medal is more “real” than the gold one. Irony, anyone?
Olympic Medals Made Of
And the bronze medal? That’s just a hunk of copper, tin, and zinc. Basically, it’s a fancy penny. If you dropped it, it would probably make that dull “clunk” sound of disappointment.
So essentially, second place gets the real silver. Third place gets recycled plumbing parts. And first place gets a silver medal with a gold tan. What a world.
