I’m saddened that too many house moves have seen my cuttings files lost. Maybe the articles were recycled and served a secondary purpose. Or maybe they are still stuffed in a shoebox somewhere. It’s the Olympics once more in Paris, but back in 2009 I was recovering from an operation and gorging on TV footage of the games, and it provided me with a rich seam of ideas for articles for various magazines. This included a feature for Coin News magazine on the history, content and manufacture of Olympic medals. Did you know, for example, that 1912 was the last time the gold medals were truly solid gold? Or that it was not always gold that was awarded as first prize in days gone by? Some early years only gave silver for first, and bronze for second… And as for the crazy picture opportunities of winners biting their medals – biting gold used to be a test of its purity, and was even used by pirates. Nowadays it’s possibly just an opportunity to show off a row of gleaming teeth?!
