2012 features heaviest Summer Olympic medals ever

(AP)- They're big, and they're a heavy handful. Not that most of us will ever get to hold one.

This year's Olympic medals are the largest and heaviest of any summer games in Olympic history. Weighing in at 400 grams (about 14 ounces), the 2012 gold medal is twice as heavy as its counterpart at the 2008 Beijing games. Measuring 85 millimeters (about 3.3 inches) across, this year's medals are the largest-ever in diameter as well.

British artist David Watkins designed the medals, which include, like all previous summer games medals, the iconic Greek goddess of victory, Nike (probably not the first image you associate with the word).

The British company Rio Tinto mined the gold, silver and copper used in the medals from its mines in Mongolia and Salt Lake City, Utah. The gold medals in this year's Olympics are actually mostly silver, with gold making up only 1.34 percent of the medal. The Royal Mint produced the finished products in Wales.

While they await their victors, the medals are being securely stored in the Tower of London, known for hundreds of years as a pretty serviceable place to lock things up.