All those gold medals that Michael Phelps is supposed to win in the 2012 Olympics? They’re not actually gold. Well sort of, but they’re actually mostly made of Silver.
According the several reports, the ‘gold’ medals are actually exactly the same as Silver medals, with a little bit of gold thrown into the mix. The reason? Money, what else?
The London Games medals are the biggest Olympic medals ever, weighing at 400 grams. The price of gold these days is at $1582.60 an ounce, which means that if the medals would have been made from 100% gold they would each cost $20,000.
According to one reporter, To put any more in there would make it far too expensive. Later in the process it will be gold plated. But in truth it is a silver medal made to look like gold.
The 2012 Summer Olympics will be the third time they’re held in London, after 1908 and 1948. The opening ceremony, the official kick off to the games, will be on July 27. The closing ceremony will be 16 days later, on August 12.
