Olympic medals are expensive because of the price of gold and silver

More than 700 gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded to winning athletes at the Winter Olympics opening in Italy on February 6. If we ignore the sentimental value, these medals are more expensive than ever due to the recent increase in precious metals.

Data firm FactSet said that compared to the Paris Olympics in July 2024, world spot prices of gold and silver increased by 107% and 200%, respectively. Accordingly, considering the metal part alone, the price of a gold medal is about 2,300 USD, more than double the price at the Paris Olympics. The silver medal costs nearly 1,400 USD, three times more.

The Italian Mint and Printing Workshop crafted the medals for this year’s Winter Olympics entirely from recycled metal. Each gold medal weighs 506 grams but contains only 6 grams of pure gold, the rest is silver.

The silver medal weighs 500 grams, made entirely from silver. Meanwhile, each bronze medal is made from 420 grams of copper, costing about 5.6 USD, according to data released by the organizing committee.

According to Baldwin’s auction house (London), Olympic gold medals have not been made entirely of gold since the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. At that time, they weighed only 26 grams, worth less than 20 USD. If adjusted for inflation in the US, this number is equivalent to about 530 USD today.

However, as collectibles, Olympic medals can sell for much more than their metal value, said Dominic Chorney, Head of Numismatics at Baldwin’s.

In 2015, Baldwin’s sold a gold medal from the 1912 Stockholm Olympics for £19,000 ($26,000).

The following year, they sold a bronze medal from the 1920 Antwerp Olympics for 640 pounds ($875). The medal has “no intrinsic value”, but is still sought after because it is associated with the world’s most famous sporting event, Chorney explained.

However, most Olympic medals are not for sale. “Very few Olympic athletes sell their medals, because they treasure them,” he said.

Last year, world spot gold prices increased by more than 60%. From the beginning of the year until now, the price of this precious metal continues to increase by 10%.

Recent developments suggest that gold and silver prices may continue to push the value of Olympic medals even higher. Ole Hansen – Head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, commented that precious metal demand is forecast to remain high in the context of prolonged geopolitical instability and increased government debt.

“I think gold and silver medals at the 2028 Summer Olympics will be even more expensive,” he said.