Trophies And Medals and their features and utilities in the corporate and the sports world

Last updated on October 2, 2016

Trophies and medals are tangible objects, which serve as a reminder of achievements and are regarded as evidence of meritorious act. Trophies and medals are often used as awards for sporting events (like Olympics or a school sporting event, etc.) and even for acts of valor and even for scientific achievements. There are many corporate events that make use of the trophies and medals made of silver, bronze or gold, to commemorate the achievement and yearlong performance of their employees.

Trophy and Medal Designs and Features

Trophies and medals often carry some design or inscriptions on them. Often times these items of achievement are carved in relief, they exhibit a raised design on their surface. In case of medals it is mostly the front surface, which carries design and inscriptions, and it called obverse.

• The obverse usually has the design of an individual or even can have a pictorial representation with some inscriptions on it. Most medals are made from bronze, as bronze is not only economical but also malleable making it easy to work with it, while giving the medal a shape or a raised design.
• Bronze is also a very durable metal. Although, bronze is the most preferred choice for medal making but one can find medals made of other metals also like silver, gold and platinum.
• There are many alloys of metals which are also used for medal making like zinc, copper, brass, aluminum, nickel etc. in fact, when you order for medals or trophies for a certain occasion, you can actually customize the designs and the layout to make the medals durable and prominent, so that they stand out from the rest.

There can be several designs and lay-outs for a trophy or a medal:

The trophies usually have a base or a platform, which is mounted with a cylindrical or spherical metallic piece or in the shape of a bowl with two handles at the sides.

• The shape of the upper part of the trophy could be in some other shape as well, but those are the most common ones. The base part can be made from both metal and wood though it is common to find the base part made of wood.
• The achievement is usually inscribed on a metallic plate, which is fixed, or to the base part of the trophy. It is not unusual for the trophies to have inscriptions or raised design on the top part as well.
• Some of the contemporary trophies take a detour from the regular shaped trophies, and they may often depict the event or the sport for which it is awarded. For example, a trophy maybe in the shape of a soccer player for a soccer championship.
• Though metal, wood columns and wooden bases are the common ways of making a trophy, but of late one can find trophies with marble bases and plastic figures as well.

Custom Trophies and Medals

There is a growing fad for custom made trophies and medals. Many organizations and institutions are awarding their employees and students for their meritorious achievements. In order to recognize the achievement of their employees and award them for their hard work and dedication many organizations and institutions get custom-made recognition trophies.

Custom medals are usually worn around the neck or pinned to the chest of the shirt. The medals, just like custom made trophies for achievements are a token of appreciation for the services rendered by someone during their working tenure. Among custom medals there can be large table medals, which are usually awarded for artistic achievements. The medal for Nobel Prize is perhaps the most prestigious custom made medal.