How much is an Olympic gold medal really worth? If this were a MasterCard ad, the answer would be “priceless.” The amount of time, effort, and money that athletes put in to achieve one is incalculable, and that goes for their families, coaches, and support team, too. The fact that your name goes in the record books forever is the payoff that remains the same for all the different countries in all the different games, no matter what the year. But in practical terms, the value of winning varies between eras, sports, and nations. But what is the medal itself worth? For starters, it’s not made of pure gold.
Instead, an Olympic gold medal is made out of precious metals in accordance with the guidelines laid out by the International Olympic Committee, which leave plenty of room for interpretation on the part of the host. For example, an Olympic gold medal must be made out of at least 92.5 percent silver as well as a minimum of 6 grams of gold. Furthermore, an Olympic gold medal must be at least 60mm diameter as well as 3mm thick. Other than these as well as other guidelines, the hosts are free to make their own decisions when it comes to their own Olympics, meaning that there can be significant variation in the amount of precious metals used to make their gold medals.
However, the amount of gold in the medal is only one way of measuring its worth. There’s also the opportunities it opens to the winner. And the money from one’s national Olympic committee that comes with the honor, which varies from place to place. And the ultimate measure is the value of the medal on the open market. Some historic medals fetch astronomical prices, while sadly, some living Olympians have actually sold their medals to raise funds. Read about all these measures of worth at Money Inc.
(Image credit: Mohammad Hassanzadeh)