As the Seattle Seahawks face the Denver Broncos Sunday in Super Bowl XLVIII on Sunday, they’ll be battling to take home the NFL’s championship Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The coveted sterling silver trophy weighs seven pounds and is created from scratch each year by the skilled silversmiths at Tiffany & Co. According to Investopedia, it costs $50,000 and requires four months and 72 man-hours to complete. After the silver trophy is presented to the Super Bowl champions at the conclusion of the game, it will then be taken back and engraved with the winning team’s name and returned to it. A new trophy is produced each year.
In 2014, silver takes on an even more important role as the Super Bowl is played outdoors in the northeastern U.S. The NFL will be presenting all 80,000 fans attending the game will receive a Warm Welcome Kit, complete with hand and foot warmers, a hand muffler, ear muffs, lip balm and silver-lined texting gloves, reported the Silver Institute, a nonprofit international precious metals industry association.
“Most effective texting gloves have silver elements, such as conductive threads woven into the fingertips, enabling wearers to use their smart phone screens without exposing their hands to the cold weather,” said Michael DiRienzo, executive director
of the Silver Institute.
The touch screens used in smart phones and tablets are engaged with low levels of electricity, as is found in a human skin or conducted by the silver threads of texting gloves. Silver is widely recognized and valued for its ability to conduct electricity. That’s why silver is an almost irreplaceable component of all electronic devices including smart phones, laptops, and tablets.
“While the fans are using their texting gloves to contact friends back home, much of the equipment and electronic systems used to broadcast the Super Bowl around the world will rely on silver components,” according to Michael DiRienzo, Executive Director of the Silver Institute.
Photo credit: Matt McGee
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byUnited States Gold Bureau