How Much is a Gold Medal Really Worth?

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed)
Mar 2nd 2010 at 7:01AM

The 2010 Winter Olympics are over, with the final United States medal count coming in at 9 Gold, 15 Silver, and 13 Bronze. That's a total of 37 medals making their way back here to the States in the hands of our worthy athletes, and although the sentimental value is truly immeasurable one can't help but wonder: just how much are those medals actually worth?

Here's how it breaks down: a gold medal is made of 550 grams of silver covered with 6 grams of gold, a silver medal is made of 41 grams of copper and 509 grams of silver, and a bronze medal is made of a mix of mostly copper with some tin and zinc. This means that in today's market a gold medal is worth approx $494, a silver medal $260, and a bronze medal just $3.

Interesting to know (I thought the gold medal would be worth more).

Tags: 2010 winter olympics, 2010WinterOlympics, bronze, gold, gold medal, GoldMedal, medals, olympics, silver

Filed under: Jewelry

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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 6)

L. Mar 2nd 2010 9:01PM

Who is worried about how much money they cost?

For all the blood, sweat, tears and years it took to get to the Olympics and

actually get a medal...

These Medals are PRICELESS...........It is an ACHIEVEMENT

HELLLLLLLO!

Suzanne Mar 3rd 2010 10:08PM

So true, L.!!

crbunnny Mar 2nd 2010 9:15PM

The endorsements for a Gold Medal winner are worth @ minimum... a million dollars. This amount has stayed true thru many years, no matter what the economy was doing.

Jim Oshust Mar 2nd 2010 10:04PM

They did look cheap, not meaning to demean the great effort their wearers put forth to win them but how cheap can a committee get. The bronze are worth approximately $730 dollars for all of them. What did they do, get a bunch of scrapcopper wire from the junk dealer? As for the gold, supposedly worth $120,000 and the silver for $63,180. When they may have wasted billions on the Games, when they allowed a luge run to be built as a hazard to human life, when they couldn't allow the people near the Olympic flame until media reaction forced them to take down the fences, they only spend approximately $190,000 on these such hard earned awards. I guess the needed the money saved to host the arrogant and overly hyped hypocrites who comprise the IOC membership.

Rozanne Mar 2nd 2010 10:09PM

I disagree with all the dollar amounts. These medals are priceless to the athletes that have earned them. I know that sounds cheesy but really. Can you put a price on determination and hard work?

Smokey Mar 2nd 2010 10:27PM

Oh come on this is the best they could come up with for the Olympics. The Metals look like they've been run over by a car or something. They look all beat up. Someone must have wrecked the truck that was carrying the metals and the Canadians freaked out and tried to straighten out the metals with a hammer. If I won one of these ( and I know I'm not. So lets save all the stupid comments) I'd be " This is what i get? Really?.... A bent up metal thats 85% junk for years of training" It seems to me that these people have wasted their lives for a bent up piece of junk. I don't feel so bad for being an underachiever.

mojo Mar 2nd 2010 10:31PM

well that puts a damper on the winners when the have to pawn them in a few years

Larry Mar 4th 2010 7:42PM

During the original Olympic games in ancient Greece, champions were not awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals. Instead, ancient Olympic victors were awarded an olive branch twisted into a circle to form a crown. The wild olive, called kotinos, had deep religious significance for the ancient Greeks. At the ancient Olympics, only the champion was recognized—there were no prizes for runners up.

In the first Olympics games of the modern era in 1896, silver medals were given out to the winners. It wasn’t until later Olympics that the gold for first place, silver for second and bronze for third system was adapted.

Beginning with the Athens 2004 games, all Olympic medals were to showcase Greece's connection to the Olympics. This is because the very first Olympic games took place in Olympia, Greece in 776 BC.

The Olympic medals are designed especially for each individual Olympic Games by the host city's organizing committee. Each medal must be at least three millimeters thick and 60 millimeters in diameter. Also, the gold and silver Olympic medals must be made out of 92.5 percent silver, with the gold medal covered in six grams of gold.

Don Beaudreault Mar 2nd 2010 10:43PM

Only $3 for a bronze medal? That is more surprising than how little a gold medal is worth! But of course, since all these medals are merely symbols of the excellent achievements of these fine athletes, they all are PRICELESS!
Don Beaudreault, Venice, FL

nthn Mar 2nd 2010 10:45PM

I find the medals embarrassing. Yeah yeah, they're recycling bla bla, but it just makes us seem cheap.

Richard Mar 2nd 2010 11:12PM

The sad part is that they are worth more then the US Dollar.

JustCodi Mar 2nd 2010 11:28PM

Personally, I could care less of the monetary value of the medals. But when I win one in 2014, in Sochi, it'll be worth more than all the money in the world. Go women's ice hockey!!!

Bob & Carol, Ted & Alice Mar 2nd 2010 11:33PM

Do we have to put a dollar value on everything these days? An Olympic medal's worth, is what it means to the athlete who won it. It's what the medal stands for, and not how much so-called precious metal it contains. Where's the "worth" in this article, anyway? Congratulations to all medal winners at the Vancouver Olympic Games. Oh, and thanks, Canada, for hosting a fun, exciting, and entertaining event.