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How Much Is an Olympic Medal Worth? Record Gold and Silver Prices Are Driving Up Their Value
By Brad Tuttle, Liliana Hall MONEY RESEARCH COLLECTIVE
Olympic medals are now worth significantly more than they were two years ago at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
Gold prices have surged since the last Olympic Games, pushing the raw value of Olympic medals to levels not seen in recent years as athletes compete in this year’s Winter Olympics in Italy.
Still, they’re not worth a mind-blowing amount of money because Olympic gold medals aren’t made entirely of gold. (In fact, the last time Olympic athletes were awarded solid gold medals was at the 1912 Summer Games in Stockholm, Sweden.)
Since the Paris Olympics in 2024, spot prices for gold have risen by about 104%, while silver prices have risen about 183%.
Those gains mean the precious metals in Olympic medals are now worth significantly more than they were two years ago. Based on current prices, the metal content of a gold medal is valued at around $2,300, while a silver medal is worth close to $1,400.
Gold prices have been particularly volatile over the past year. After hovering around $2,800 an ounce in early 2025, prices surged, nearly doubling to over $5,000 per ounce on Jan. 26 amid heavy buying by central banks and investors seeking a safe place to park money during periods of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Even with those increases, Olympic gold medals remain far less valuable than their name suggests. More than 1,100 medals will be awarded across this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, including hundreds of gold and silver medals.
The gold medals awarded at this year’s Games weigh 506 grams (roughly 16 troy ounces) and contain only 6 grams of pure gold, with the rest composed primarily of silver. Bronze medals are made mostly of copper and weigh about 420 grams, or roughly 15 ounces. Based on copper prices of around $5.94 per pound, the metal content of a bronze medal is worth approximately $5.55.
How much is an Olympic gold medal worth?
Olympic gold medals are generally worth far more than their raw metal value. In 2024, Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at Boston-based RR Auction, estimated that a gold medal won by a low-profile athlete at the Paris Games could sell for between $15,000 to $30,000 after the competition ended.
“The exact value depends on several factors, including the athlete’s profile, the sport and the uniqueness of the achievement,” Livingston wrote in an email to Money at the time.
Livingston identified several factors that help determine how much a gold medal might sell for at auction:
- Historical significance: Medals won during historic events — like track star Jesse Owens’ appearance at the 1936 Games in Berlin or the “Miracle on Ice” 1980 USA hockey victory over the Soviet Union — could command extremely high prices if ever sold. One of Owens’ medals sold for nearly $1.5 million in 2013.
- Fame and popularity of the athlete: Buyers would pay more (possibly $100,000 or higher) for medals belonging to iconic figures like gymnast Simone Biles, swimmer Michael Phelps and runner Usain Bolt. Note, however, that “top-tier athletes rarely sell their medals during their lifetime, making such sales rare and highly valuable,” Livingston said.
- Circumstances of the sale: “The story behind the medal can significantly impact its value,” Livingston said. “Medals sold for charitable causes or those with a well-documented history can attract higher bids.”
- Condition and presentation: As with any collectible, the physical condition of a gold medal, accompanying certificates and memorabilia, and overall presentation can affect the value.
Most Olympic athletes spend much of their lives working in pursuit of a gold medal, so they probably don’t want to part with their prize regardless of how much it’s worth. The good thing is that many Olympians — including athletes from Team USA — are rewarded with cash bonuses for winning medals.
What Team USA athletes will get in the 2026 Winter Games
Beyond the value of any medals they win — and any endorsement deals that might follow — Olympic athletes often receive cash payments for placing high in competitions.
Traditionally, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s Operation Gold program makes payments of $37,500 to each Team USA athlete for winning an Olympic gold medal, plus $22,500 for silver and $15,000 for bronze. Programs in other countries offer even bigger payouts: Gold medal winners from Hong Kong and Singapore receive the equivalent of more than $750,000 apiece.
On top of that, however, financier Ross Stevens has promised to give $200,000 to every U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athlete competing in Italy this year. Half of the money will be paid either 20 years after an athlete’s first qualifying Olympic appearance or at age 45. The remaining $100,000 will be reserved as a benefit for the athlete’s family after their death.
“I do not believe that financial insecurity should stop our nation’s elite athletes from breaking through to new frontiers of excellence,” Stevens told the Wall Street Journal.
Stevens’ $100 million gift is significant not only because it’s the largest single donation in USOPC history, but also because Team USA is funded entirely through corporate sponsorships and private contributions rather than by the government.
The program could also encourage athletes to stick around for multiple Games. Roughly 60% of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic medals have been historically won by competitors who previously competed, and this payout provides an incentive to continue pursuing another Olympic run.
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Brad Tuttle was a senior editor at Money, where he covered personal finance for well over 10 years. He joined Money in 2014, transitioning from sister publication TIME, where he wrote and edited consumer and finance content starting with the Great Recession in 2009. During his time at Money, Brad covered a vast array of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, restaurants, consumer banking, the retail industry, shopping, deals, and more. Previously, Brad was an editor at Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel and Wondertime magazines, and he has written for Newsweek, Real Simple, and The New York Times, among other publications. He is also the author of The Ellis Island Collection: Artifacts From the Immigrant Experience (2004) and How Newark Became Newark: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American City (2009). Originally from New Jersey, Brad is a 1995 graduate of Villanova University, and he received a master's degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 2000. He now lives in western Massachusetts and has been a part-time professor for over 10 years in the journalism department at UMass-Amherst.
Liliana Hall is an Austin-based reporter for Money, where she covers a range of topics, including financial news, policy, banking, investing, passive income, financial planning and student loan debt. Passionate about accessibility and financial literacy, she’s dedicated to helping readers navigate the complexities of money management and feel empowered to make informed decisions about their financial futures. Previously, Liliana covered all angles of personal finance as a writer and editor at CreditCards.com, Bankrate and CNET. Before she ever wrote about money, she worked in a handful of newsrooms across Austin, Texas, covering everything from the Texas Legislature to SXSW and the 2019 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Her work has been featured in The Daily Texan, Austin Chronicle and KUT. A Texas native, Liliana graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism. When she’s offline, you can probably find her paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake, riding her moped around town or reading for her book club.