Silver medal Silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives a gold medal and the third place a bronze medal. More generally, silver is traditionally a metal sometimes used for all types of high-quality medals, including artistic ones. In 1896, winners' medals were in fact silver. The custom of gold-silver-bronze for the first three places dates from the 1904 games and has been copied for
Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan Service Medal. The medal is silver and circular in shape and designed as follows: The "Afghanistan" Clasp is awarded for service specifically in Afghanistan. A silver rosette on the ribbon denotes entitlement to the clasp when no medal is worn.<br> There are three variants of the 'Afghanistan' clasps to date:<br>The first issue from 2002–2004 – the clasp had a smooth background behind the inscription.<br>From 2005 to date, from Operation Herrick onwards – the clasp has a 'dappled' effect behind the inscription, similar to the 'Northern Ireland' clasp on the General Service Medal 1962–2007.<br>During 2009, 1,000 medals were awarded with a