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 6 of 6)

Suzanne Mar 3rd 2010 1:57PM

This may be one of the more ridiculous analogies I have ever read on these threads. Not to take away from the achievements of your children, but do you really think that the bronze medals are equivalent to $10 little league trophies? Have you and your children put in the same amount of time, money, energy and sacrifice that the Olympic athletes and their parents have on the path to the podium? You continue to miss the point, Cooper. You cannot assign a value to the bronze medal...it is as priceless to those who earned it as the gold.

Jim Mar 3rd 2010 4:47PM

The medals are too big and too gaudy. Make them smaller and make the metal more pure. Somebody said they put heavier metal in the middle and coat them too make them stronger. Thats stupid, its not like they wear them everyday. The athletes can be proudof their acheivements but with all the money the Olympic committee makes you'd think most of it would go to the athletes who make us want to sit down and watch them.