How the Royal Australian Mint crafted the winners' medals for the Sydney Olympics

With the London games just around the corner, today's Treasure Trove is a look back at the Olympic booty from the Sydney games, created by the Royal Australian Mint.

The Royal Australian Mint was responsible for the production of the medals for the Sydney games.

The 750 gold medals were 99.99 per cent pure solid silver with 5g gold plating; the 750 silver medals were 99.99 per cent pure solid silver; and the 780 bronze medals were 99 per cent bronze with one per cent silver.

All that glitters... is actually gold (but mostly silver)

10.5kg of gold was required for the gold medals all up, with total value of the gold used in all medals in excess of AU$190,000 (based on gold process at the time).

The gold used in the medals came from two mines in the Orange and Blayney areas of central west NSW.

A metric tonne of silver was required for the production of all three medals, with most of precious metal being donated by the Cannington mine in Queensland.

The community of Broken Hill also donated a 22.5kg ingot of silver.

Bronzed Aussies

In a spark of ingenuity, the bronze medals were made from melted down 1c and 2c coins that were made obsolete in Australia in 1996.

There is a high possibility that the bronze coinage for the medals passed through the hands of most Australians before being turned into medals for Olympians.

The final bronze medals were made up of 1% silver with the rest made up of the bronze coinage (97% copper, 2.5% zinc. 0.5% tin).

And the winner is...

In July 1998, invitations were sent to 18 prominent artists, sculptors, jewellery designers and design students to come up with a design for the medals, though entry was open to all.

Four months later, contestants submitted their designs on paper along with replicas.

After being judged by a panel of six experts, the unanimous choice was the design of Polish-born sculptor Wojciech Pietranik, a coin designer and engraver for the Royal Australian Mint.

On 7 June 2000, the official striking of the Sydney Olympic victory medal was launched at the Royal Australian Mint by by the then Minister for Financial Services and Regulation, The Hon

Joe Hockey MP, who was the Minister responsible for the Royal Australian Mint.

The final medal was 68mm in diameter, 3mm thick at the rim and 5mm thick at highest point of relief.

The Sydney 2000 victory medals will be on display at the Royal Australian Mint throughout the duration of the London 2012 games.

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