Olympic gold medal worth only $644July 31, 2012 - 10:39 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The value of an Olympic medal, for many the crowning achievement of a lifetime’s work, is of course priceless – an irreplaceable memento to outstanding athletic achievement. Yet in real terms, at least for the third place finishers at London 2012, the actual monetary value of medals is astonishingly low. The bronze medals awarded at these games have been valued at just Ј3 ($4.71). Those that occupy the bottom rung of the podium are given prizes that are made up of 97 percent copper, 2.5 percent zinc and 0.5 percent tin, which according to London’s Daily Mail newspaper makes them worth Ј3 at current prices. “Copper is not a particularly valuable metal,” jewelry expert Dan Cohen said. “Copper prices have gone up recently though, so much so that people have been stealing brass cables and so on. One and two pence pieces in the United Kingdom are no longer made of copper, because they would be more valuable if they were melted down.” London 2012 medals weigh just under one pound and at three inches across are the biggest ever awarded at a Summer Olympics. They were designed by artist David Watkins and 4,700 of them will be handed out over the course of the event. The gold and silver medals, naturally, have a greater actual value. A gold is worth $644, yet is only one percent gold, with the rest made up of silver and copper. The silvers replace the gold element with extra copper, and are worth about half as much, Yahoo! Sports reported. Top stories Armenian gymnast, Olympic bronze medalist Artur Davtyan has reached the finals of the World Cup. Gor Manvelyan has denied reports alleging that he has expressed a desire to one day play for the French national team. Roma midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is not considering FC Spartak Moscow as his next haven, according to fresh reports. 10 Armenian lifters will compete in the 2021 World Championships scheduled to be held from 7 to 17 December in Tashkent. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |