Gold costs have surged because the final Olympic Video games, pushing the uncooked worth of Olympic medals to ranges not seen in recent times as athletes compete on this 12 months’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
Nonetheless, they’re not value a mind-blowing sum of money as a result of Olympic gold medals aren’t made solely of gold. (In reality, the final time Olympic athletes had been awarded strong gold medals was on the 1912 Summer season Video games in Stockholm, Sweden.)
For the reason that Paris Olympics in 2024, spot costs for gold have risen by about 104%, whereas silver costs have risen about 183%.
These good points imply the valuable metals in Olympic medals at the moment are value considerably greater than they had been two years in the past. Based mostly on present costs, the steel content material of a gold medal is valued at round $2,300, whereas a silver medal is value near $1,400.
Gold costs have been significantly unstable over the previous 12 months. After hovering round $2,800 an ounce in early 2025, costs surged, almost doubling to over $5,000 per ounce on Jan. 26 amid heavy shopping for by central banks and buyers looking for a secure place to park cash during times of geopolitical and financial uncertainty.
Even with these will increase, Olympic gold medals stay far much less invaluable than their title suggests. Greater than 1,100 medals will probably be awarded throughout this 12 months’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Video games, together with tons of of gold and silver medals.
The gold medals awarded at this 12 months’s Video games weigh 506 grams (roughly 16 troy ounces) and comprise solely 6 grams of pure gold, with the remaining composed primarily of silver. Bronze medals are made largely of copper and weigh about 420 grams, or roughly 15 ounces. Based mostly on copper costs of round $5.94 per pound, the steel content material of a bronze medal is value roughly $5.55.
How a lot is an Olympic gold medal value?
Olympic gold medals are usually value way over their uncooked steel worth. In 2024, Bobby Livingston, govt vp at Boston-based RR Public sale, estimated {that a} gold medal received by a low-profile athlete on the Paris Video games might promote for between $15,000 to $30,000 after the competitors ended.
“The precise worth depends upon a number of elements, together with the athlete’s profile, the game and the distinctiveness of the achievement,” Livingston wrote in an e-mail to Cash on the time.
Livingston recognized a number of elements that assist decide how a lot a gold medal would possibly promote for at public sale:
- Historic significance: Medals received throughout historic occasions — like observe star Jesse Owens’ look on the 1936 Video games in Berlin or the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 USA hockey victory over the Soviet Union — might command extraordinarily excessive costs if ever offered. One in all Owens’ medals offered for almost $1.5 million in 2013.
- Fame and reputation of the athlete: Patrons would pay extra (probably $100,000 or larger) for medals belonging to iconic figures like gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Michael Phelps and runner Usain Bolt. Observe, nonetheless, that “top-tier athletes hardly ever promote their medals throughout their lifetime, making such gross sales uncommon and extremely invaluable,” Livingston mentioned.
- Circumstances of the sale: “The story behind the medal can considerably influence its worth,” Livingston mentioned. “Medals offered for charitable causes or these with a well-documented historical past can entice larger bids.”
- Situation and presentation: As with all collectible, the bodily situation of a gold medal, accompanying certificates and memorabilia, and total presentation can have an effect on the worth.
Most Olympic athletes spend a lot of their lives working in pursuit of a gold medal, in order that they most likely don’t wish to half with their prize no matter how a lot it’s value. The great factor is that many Olympians — together with athletes from Staff USA — are rewarded with money bonuses for successful medals.
What Staff USA athletes will get within the 2026 Winter Video games
Past the worth of any medals they win — and any endorsement offers which may comply with — Olympic athletes usually obtain money funds for putting excessive in competitions.
Historically, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Operation Gold program makes funds of $37,500 to every Staff USA athlete for successful an Olympic gold medal, plus $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Packages in different international locations provide even larger payouts: Gold medal winners from Hong Kong and Singapore obtain the equal of greater than $750,000 apiece.
On high of that, nonetheless, financier Ross Stevens has promised to offer $200,000 to each U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete competing in Italy this 12 months. Half of the cash will probably be paid both 20 years after an athlete’s first qualifying Olympic look or at age 45. The remaining $100,000 will probably be reserved as a profit for the athlete’s household after their demise.
“I don’t consider that monetary insecurity ought to cease our nation’s elite athletes from breaking by way of to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens informed the Wall Road Journal.
Stevens’ $100 million present is critical not solely as a result of it is the biggest single donation in USOPC historical past, but additionally as a result of Staff USA is funded solely by way of company sponsorships and personal contributions moderately than by the federal government.
This system might additionally encourage athletes to stay round for a number of Video games. Roughly 60% of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic medals have been traditionally received by rivals who beforehand competed, and this payout supplies an incentive to proceed pursuing one other Olympic run.
Extra from Cash:
Gold 2026 Outlook: This is What Consultants Predict
How to Purchase Gold
Is Gold a Good Funding?
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