London 2012 Olympic Gold Medal .. The Story Behind The Medal

[Spartan]

[img]http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/2012-olympic-medals.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.london2012.com/mm/Photo/photos/General/01/23/92/54/1239254_M01.jpg[/img]

Designed especially for each Games, the medals are what every athlete strives to win.

The medals at the London 2012 Olympic Games will be awarded during a total of 302 Victory Ceremonies, taking places at venues across the UK.
The medals have been designed by David Watkins, an established artist in the field of decorative art, and are in production at the Royal Mint headquarters in Llantrisant, South Wales.
[b] The story behind the medal[/b]

The Olympic medals’ circular form is a metaphor for the world. The front of the medal always depicts the same imagery at the Summer Games – the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, stepping out of the depiction of the Parthenon to arrive in the Host City.

The design for the reverse features five symbolic elements:

- The curved background implies a bowl similar to the design of an amphitheatre.
- The core emblem is an architectural expression, a metaphor for the modern city, and is deliberately jewel-like.
- The grid suggests both a pulling together and a sense of outreach – an image of radiating energy that represents the athletes’ efforts.
- The River Thames in the background is a symbol for London and also suggests a fluttering baroque ribbon, adding a sense of celebration.
- The square is the final balancing motif of the design, opposing the overall circularity of the design, emphasising its focus on the centre and reinforcing the sense of ‘place’ as in a map inset.

[b] Medal specification[/b]

- The London 2012 Olympic medals weigh 375-400g, are 85mm in diameter and 7mm thick.
- The gold medal is made up of 92.5% silver and 1.34% gold, with the remainder copper (a minimum of 6g of gold).
- The silver medal is made up of 92.5% silver, with the remainder copper.
- The bronze medal is made up of 97.0% copper, 2.5% zinc and 0.5% tin.
The precious ore for the medals has been supplied by London 2012 sponsor Rio Tinto and was mined at Kennecott Utah Copper Mine near Salt Lake City in America, as well as from the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia. For the small amount of non-precious elements that make up the bronze medals, the zinc was sourced from a mine in Australia as well as from recycled stock, while the tin originates from a mine in Cornwall.
[b] How the designs were chosen[/b]

When creating the brief, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) Victory Ceremonies team worked closely with the British Museum’s Keeper of Coins and Medals, Philip Attwood, to look at the symbolic history of medals in Europe in the last century.
An independent panel of Sir John Sorrel (chair), Sir Mark Jones, Catherine Johnson, Ade Adepitan (deputy chair), Iwona Blazwick OBE, Niccy Hallifax and Martin Green was set up to look at the designs submitted by over 100 artists. The LOCOG Athletes’ Committee, chaired by Jonathan Edwards, and the British Olympic Association (BOA) were also involved throughout the process.
The medals can be seen at the British Museum throughout the Games

[Spartan]

[b] Royal British Mint Olympic “Handover to Rio” Coin Announced[/b]


[img]http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/olympic-hand-over-coin.jpg[/img]

The Royal Mint has announced (16[sup]th[/sup] July) the release of a new coin to mark the handover ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games to their next host country, Brazil and the city of Rio de Janeiro. This will represent a full circle of Olympic events captured on British coinage, the first Olympic coin – a £2 bi-metallic denomination was struck by the Royal Mint in 2008 to highlight the handover ceremony of the Games from Beijing to London, who were awarded the Games in July 2007.

[k2s]

k
gp

[Spartan]

[b] Kremnica Mint Launches Medals for London 2012 Olympics[/b]


[img]http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/silver-medal.jpg[/img]

The Kremnica Mint located in the Slovak Republic have launched (25[sup]th[/sup] June) three new medals which celebrate the XXX Olympiad hosted this year in London, capital city of the United Kingdom. The Summer Olympic Games kick off on the 28[sup]th[/sup] July for two weeks, followed by the Paralympic Games thereafter. It is the third time London has hosted the modern Olympiad since it’s organization in 1896.

The three medals include several traditional symbols of both the games and London which are artfully blended together to create a medal which is both eye-catching and in the case of the silver edition, colorful. The obverse of the design common to all three medals sees the towers of London’s iconic and aptly named Tower Bridge to the left and to the right of the towers is a female gymnast in action. The Union jack is seen in the background - additional colors are added on the silver strike. Under the central design is the text “LONDYN 2012” positioned in two lines. The reverse side includes a segment of the traditional Olympic rings and in the center, a representation of the Olympic torch burning as it would be seen at the start of the games. The inscription “XXX OLYMPIJSKE HRY” is positioned above the primary design.

[img]http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/gold-medal.jpg[/img]

All medals are struck in proof quality, the gold edition has a weight of 7.7 grams of .999 fine and a diameter of 23 mm., they will be specifically numbered between 001 and 200 pieces. The silver medal is also struck in .999 fine with a weight of 20 grams and a diameter of 34 mm. The third version is also 34 mm. in diameter and is struck in nordic gold with a gold-plated finish.

[ghazni]

[Spartan]

[b] Final “London 2012” Gold Coin Series Unveiled[/b]


[img]http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/three-gold-coins.jpg[/img]

The Royal Mint has launched (30[sup]th[/sup] April) their third and final Olympic three coin gold series, which is inspired by the Olympic motto “[i]Citius, Altius, Fortius[/i]” (Faster, Higher, Stronger). The last series is dedicated to “Stronger” which now completes the series.
The three coin gold set consists of a one ounce coin with a face value of £100 and two quarter-ounce coins of £25. The ‘Stronger’ coin set is one of the most exclusive options to commemorate the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As an Official Product of London 2012, the Gold Series is the only collection in The Royal Mint’s London 2012 commemorative coin program to feature the iconic five Olympic Rings on every coin.

Designed by sculptor John Bergdahl, he has combined both classical and contemporary elements of the Olympic Games. The inspiration for Bergdahl’s designs is the idea of the Roman Gods looking down on their creations, watching the Olympic Games, but only being able to observe, not interfere. The classical heritage of the Olympic Games is combined with modern sporting achievement, each of the three coins in the distinctive ‘Stronger’ collection features a different Roman God reflecting the third strand of the Olympic motto.

Mars, (£100) the God of War, watches over the sport of Boxing; Vulcan, (£25) the God of Fire, overlooks two mortals taking part in the sport of Hammer Throwing; and Minerva, (£25) the Goddess of War, looks on as an athlete throws the javelin. The obverse of each features the classic portrait of Her Majesty The Queen designed by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS.

The three coin set is struck in proof quality in .916 gold with a weight of 34.05 grams and a diameter of 32.69 mm (£100). The £25 coins have a weight of 8.51 grams and a diameter of 22 mm. The mintage limit for the £100 coin is 7,500 and 20,000 for each £25 coin. The Gold coins are presented in luxurious wood veneer cases (3 coin set, 2 coin set and individual coins) and features the Olympic Rings including individually numbered Certificates of Authenticity. The XXX Olympiad which is held in London begins on the 27[sup]th[/sup] July and commences on the 12[sup]th[/sup] August with the Paralympic games beginning thereafter.

[puuuu]

post vesina vaaaru enni gelicharo.. gleavali anukuntunnaro kuda cheppali