The school gold medal is a special distinction. Only the best students deserve it, who throughout their studies in secondary school have consistently confirmed their knowledge with excellent marks in all subjects.
The history of awarding medals in Russia for special successes in the study of school disciplines began in the 19th century, in 1928. Legally, this procedure was enshrined in the "Charter of Uyezd and Parish Gymnasiums and Schools". In Soviet times, this tradition was renewed in May 1945.
In our time, the gold school medal first lost its power as the most expensive award for successful school work - it stopped bringing benefits when entering higher educational institutions, and then completely replace it with a special certificate.
Gold value
Surprisingly, in a country that had just defeated fascism and returned from the war, the institution of medals was returned. "For excellent school performance and exemplary behavior", such an inscription adorned each copy and was written in all the languages of the republics of the USSR. At the same time, the evolution of the school award developed as follows. The graduate of 1945 was awarded the coveted award, which consisted of the highest gold, 583 standard, which had a diameter of 32 mm and weighed almost 10, 5 grams.
In 1954, the precious metal in the medal was replaced with a lower standard - 375, technological changes took place in the process of obtaining the alloy, and it itself became much lighter and began to weigh about 6 grams.
In 1960, new copies appeared. School medals were made from tombak and coated with gold plating. The precious metal remained only in the dusting, its amount there was 0.2 grams.
With the collapse of the USSR, Russia established its own institute of medals. They were made at the Moscow factory Goznak. In the final version, they were decorated with a coat of arms with an enamel ribbon made from the colors of the Russian tricolor. The medal was coated with gold plating with a thickness of 5 microns 999.9 samples. Thus, the amount of precious metal in it was 0, 31 grams of gold. The cost of the school gold medal was 300 rubles.
A generation of pragmatists
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a gold medal could be obtained only if the graduate had a solid "excellent" mark in three subjects - Latin, Ancient Greek and mathematics. All the rest had to be within 4, 5 points.
In the USSR, a medal was given if all marks in the last graduating class were excellent. Titanic work, vanity and ambition were appreciated. The award was of great value in the eyes of others and provided good privileges for admission to higher educational institutions - instead of four entrance exams, it was possible to pass only one, but with excellent marks.
The status of the medal was high at all times of its existence. In Russia, when the benefits for admission, which were given by the medal, were removed, its value was leveled. The younger generation of pragmatists no longer sets itself the goal of wasting extra efforts on it.
