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
Union of South Africa Queen's Medal for Bravery, Silver in Government Gazette no. 5013 dated 27 February 1953. The medal replaced the Union of South Africa King's Medal for Bravery, Silver, after the accession to the British Throne of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The earlier King's Medal for Bravery, Silver was awarded to recognise acts of gallantry performed in the face of imminent and obvious peril by those residents of the Union of South Africa or its dependent territories who endangered their lives in the act of saving, or endeavouring to save, the lives of others. Upon the institution of the Queen's Medal for Bravery, Silver,