Golden Buddha Statue

Why the Golden Buddha Statue is special
It has a fascinating history and staggering monetary value.

Golden Buddha Statue tips and insights
Height, weight and value
The seated Golden Buddha in Bangkok is 3-meters (10-feet) high and weighs 12,000 pounds. At US$1,400 per troy ounce (the rate at this writing), the gold in the statue is worth $250 million dollars.

History in brief

• 13th century
  The Buddha was cast in solid gold north of Bangkok during the powerful Sukhothai period.
• 18th century
  The Golden Buddha was completely covered in plaster to make an invading army think it was a commonplace cement statue. The ruse worked, but too well. The secret was forgotten for centuries.
• 20th century
  In 1955, while the "cement" statue was being hoisted into its new home, the rope apparatus failed and the sculpture heavily fell to the ground. The next day a surprised monk saw gold where a piece of the plaster had chipped off. The removal of the remaining plaster followed.

Security
Considering the Golden Buddha's whopping value, it is relatively unprotected. But whose going to steal a 5.5-tonne object sitting in an upper floor of the Golden Buddha Temple in the middle of a large city?

Location in Thailand