Gold, Silver, Bronze: The History of the Olympic Medals

Have you ever watched the Olympic games and wondered why the champions win certain coloured medals? Why are the colours gold, silver, bronze--in that order?

Questions like this might not cause you to lose sleep at night but learning the answer could make for some great trivia knowledge.

We have sorted through the history and found what the meaning is behind these medals is and what the meaning of their respective metals is. Keep reading for more information!

Gold, Silver, Bronze: Greek History

As you probably know, the Olympics were first played in Greece. Because of this, the metals used have roots in Greek Mythology.

The Golden Age is a period in Greek Mythology that humans and Greek gods lived in harmony. Following the Golden Age, is the Silver Age occurred. During the Silver Age, men lost their reverence for the gods as well as their strength.

Finally, there was the Bronze Age which is historically filled with war and violence.

Another reason for the choice of metals used is the periodic table. All metals used for Olympian medals are in the same column. The arrangement of columns on the table has the lightest and most abundant metals on top and the heavier and less common elements on the bottom.

Looking at it from that perspective would make gold the rarest and most valuable. This makes sense being that the overall winner takes the gold.

Fool's Gold

In case you were wondering, the coveted gold medals given at the games aren't made entirely of gold. They are actually made of 99.9 per cent silver and plated in 6 grams of gold. All Olympic gold medals must contain at least those 6 grams of gold.

Solid gold was last used at the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.

Silver for First Place?

Gold has not always been the first-place medal. The first modern Olympic Games that were in Athens, Greece during the year of 1896 actually featured silver medals for first place.

As mentioned, gold medals are not actually made completely of gold. You should know that the other metal used for the gold medal is actually SILVER!

Bronze--Never First Place

Back when silver medals were given as first place, a copper or bronze medal was given to second. There was no true award for third place.

Bronze medals, unlike its first and second place cousins, have an average melting weight price of about $3.00. However, the value of any medal will be higher when sold at auction versus melting it down.

Winning Games, Winning Hearts

When the Ancient Olympic Games were first played in Greece, the winners of the games received a crown of olive branches. There was only one winner per event, and golden scissors always cut the branches used.

No matter what the award was or is for winning an event, nations adore and love their winners.

For more information about trophies and medals in gold, silver, bronze, and other metals, check out our blog!