We spent the weekend in NYC and visited the Statue of Liberty (though didn’t make reservations early enough to visit the crown). References say that the torch is covered in real 24K gold leaf or plating. I guess that can be pretty thin but still, that’s a big application.
I have been unable to Google well enough to find out just how much gold is used for this. Anybody know the weight or cost of the gold?
This sounds like something you should contact the National Park Service for.
http://www.nps.gov/stli/contacts.htm
It’s probably a lot less than you think - 1 oz of Gold can be turned into a sheet larger than a football field.
Related but not the answer:
The Colorado State Capitol Building Dome is covered in gold. They have to re-paint about every thirty years, and it takes between 40-50 ounces (about 3 lbs./ 1.3kg) each time. The dome is probably bigger than Lady Liberty’s torch, but certainly not as big as the U.S. Capitol dome. linky
Excellent idea.
CookingWithGas–give it up.
You’ll never get it all the way down the Statue, much less past the Park Rangers.
I went to that site originally and they don’t list the amount of gold on the fact sheet. They should add it.
I’m glad you got an answer that your happy with.