Trophies:  Those shiny cups and plaques your cousins and their moms used to boast about. Somehow, they never quite looked as big in person as they made them sound. But those shiny metal cups and plaques looked so desirable in school. They made you want to be a champion. And somehow, the hierarchy between gold, silver and bronze trophies was evident without having to be made clear.

The trend nowadays is to award silver and other white metal trophies. They come at a slightly lower cost, and look more beautiful than any other trophy. A gentle scrub makes them clean and they go well with all sorts of room decor. They look professional, and look stunning without being too flashy.

A little on Trophies

The ancient Greeks awarded laurel crowns to athletes, and the Romans awarded money, which were precious metal coins. Both the themes can be noticed to be prominent in today’s trophies. The chalice or cup came later though, probably with the Kyp Cup. The plaques are probably remnants of the era when winners were given shields.

Types of Silver/ White Metal Trophies

The types vary mostly due to the metal composition. Lead based alloys are no longer used to make trophies. They could be hard and heavy in their time. Thank goodness they’re out of vogue, right?

Silver has been the traditional choice for the second place in a competition, but that trend is fast fading. Positions are now declared by the size and weight of the trophy. Silver is easy to rust though. It turns black in polluted air due to automobile exhausts. The trophy often comes in a sealed glass box due to this. The box can add to the beauty of the memento, through the borders, base etc.

Most white metal trophies are mass produced today, making them cheaper and more standardized. They usually use a tin alloy to make the actual trophy. The health of the trophy is preserved with the alloy, which doesn’t rust or dull as easily as pure metal (polishes) like Gold or Silver.

Tips to find out whether your cousin’s trophy is actually cool or not

With every third person you meet boasting about the size of trophies they have at home, it can get pretty annoying. People tend to flock around the shelf to have a closer look, and you couldn’t be more put off. Here’s how to find out if the trophy is actually a big deal. You could announce the trophy’s actual worth to the ogling people, but I don’t particularly recommend it

       * Look at the weight

A really awesome trophy will have a good deal of weight. Now obviously, a small sized metal trophy wouldn’t have so much weight going by the looks of it. But trust me; the wood or marble base does add plenty of weight to the whole device and you can never be sure how heavy the wood is, since different varieties can be in vogue at the same time. So ask your cousin if you can hold it. Or maybe sneak your hand into the shelf when no one’s looking. I recommend against that too.

        *  Look at the base

The base can be made of metal, wood or stone. Metal base are not often high value trophies. Wood, and more specifically intricately carved wood, can be a bigger declaration of value. The more the shapeliness added to the rectangular-ness or circularity of the base, the more the value. Marble trophies are more valuable by the same logic, even if the detailing may not be as intricate.

        *  The shape of the trophy

Heart shaped chalices are mass produced these days, so the trophy is probably just a cheap replica made in a factory. A well crafted or detailed chalice could be more valuable though. Plaques and shields hold more authority, but are less fun to behold.

You can then decide for yourself if the cousin did in fact do something great, or if the family is just making a brouhaha over a school race he came second in.