Gold medal

:This article is about gold medals as awards or prizes. There is also an article on Gold Medal, an album by The Donnas.

Olympic Games

Without qualification, the term is likely to refer to a winner's prize at the modern Olympic Games (medals were not awarded at the ancient games). In 1896 winners' medals were in fact silver. The custom of gold-silver-bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 games and has been copied for many other sporting events. Minting the medals is the responsibility of the host city. From 1928-1968 the design was always the same: the obverse showed a generic design by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli with text giving the host city; the reverse showed another generic design of an Olympic champion. From 1972-2000, Cassioli's design (or a slight reworking) remained on the obverse with a custom design by the host city on the reverse. Noting that Cassioli's design showed a Roman amphitheatre for what was originally a Greek games, a new obverse design was commissioned for the Athens 2004 Games. Winter Olympics medals have been of more varied design.

Related Topics:
Olympic Games - Minting - Winter Olympics

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Most gold medals (including Olympic gold medals) are gold plated, exceptions being the Congressional Gold Medal and Nobel Prizewinners medals which are solid gold.

Related Topics:
Congressional Gold Medal - Nobel Prize

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