Olympic Medals & Their Worth

Olympic Medals Are Worth More Than You Think, But Not From A Precious Metal Perspective

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic, will be the 32 Olympiad in history.  What makes the 2020 Olympics unique is that the Olympic Committee is introducing 6 more sport competitions which include: skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing, karate, baseball, and softball.  With adding 6 more sporting events, there will be an additional 6 more medal ceremonies, increasing from 333 sporting events to 339 sporting events.  This means that more medals will have to be produced and hopefully more medals for Team USA to capture. The first time that medals were awarded to athletes was in the 1896 Olympiad.  Athletes who placed first would receive a silver medal, instead of gold which is used today.  As the years went on, Olympic athletes would then receive gold, silver, or bronze for placing either first, second, or third.  It wasn’t until the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm that gold medals were awarded to athletes being placed first.  This was the first and only time that the gold medal awarded would be made entirely out of gold.  Things surely have changed since then, and now medals are made a little differently.  All of the medals that are made have certain features that pay tribute to the current games so that athletes who compete and place in the top 3 of their sport can differentiate which Olympiad it was from.  Also, each gold medal is not entirely all gold.  Don’t be alarmed!  There is gold in the medal, it’s just not the same as the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.

Year after year, due to inflation and the global economy, gold has risen significantly in demand and in price.  There is a reason why retirees and investors are flocking to gold, as it has become known as the ultimate “hedge against inflation”.  For reasons why it is known as a hedge against inflation, an executive at Allegiance Gold can fully educate you on why it has so much value.  The Olympic Committee produces each medal awarded to each individual and team that places in each competition.  Have you ever wondered how much gold is actually in a gold medal?  Or how much silver or bronze is in a silver or bronze medal?  Each gold medal produced has approximately 6 grams of gold in each medal, while the remaining, inside part of the medal is silver.  Depending on the spot price of gold at the time of production, this can be a costly expense to manufacture on average 812 medals.  If each medal was entirely produced of gold, the total cost of all the medals produced would be approximately $22 million.  The silver medal is the only medal that stands true for what the medal is made of.  The silver medal is 100% silver, while the bronze medal has some silver but has over 90% of bronze coined into the medal.

2020 Olympic Medal Characteristics

Each gold, silver, and bronze medal that is made for the 32nd Olympiad will have the following characteristics:

-The Greek goddess of victory, Nike, is featured on the front side of the medal with the Panathinaikos Stadium in the background

-”XXXII Olympiad Tokyo 2020” – the official name of the current games on the back

-The 5 rings symbol of Olympics featured on the front of the medal as well

Are Olympic medals valuable?  Olympic medals are not that valuable from a price standpoint, as most of the value for the medal becomes lucrative from a symbolic perspective.  Some athletes have been known to sell or auction off their medal with prices ranging above $25,000.  Depending on which Olympiad the medal is from, it can be of more value.  Since there are more competitions being added this year, it won’t be too long before the value of these medals reach a price point of 5 or more figures.

Go Team USA!

The 2020 Olympics are underway, and we can’t wait to see the outcome of each event in the next 2 weeks.  Each medal that is awarded is a moment in history that each recipient will never forget, and will lead them to more success after the Olympics are over.  For most gold medal winners, and medal winners collectively, having added an Olympic medal to their career profile will increase their partnerships and endorsements, which would be setting them up for life.  Gold, silver, and bronze will play an important role in the events to come.  We look forward to seeing who places a medal around their neck for the 32nd Olympiad.  We wish Team USA the best of luck!