Olympic medals are the rewards which are being given to the winners of Olympic Games since 1896. How much are senior Olympic medals worth? This is going to be reveal here considering various factors.
Table of Contents
Olympic medal history
Olympic medals are of three categories gold, silver and bronze for 1st, 2nd and 3rd position winners. At the initial stage the medals’ design were used to be different each year and for each Olympic games. By the year of 1928 one particular design for medal was decided and continued till 2004. After that some modifications and changes were made and new design was introduced in 2004.
Summer Olympic medal designs remain same where as winter Olympic medal designs vary, depending upon the hosting country to represent the symbol and nationality on the medal.
Before jumping straight away on how much does Olympic medals worth! First of all we should know the design, it’s specifications, material used in because the worth of an Olympic medal will depend on these factors.
Olympic medals specifications and design
The design and specifications are set by International Olympic Committee (IOC) which work with National Olympic Committee (NOC) of that particular Olympic game hosting country to set the symbols and icons. But specifications and Measurement remains same which are:
- Circular in shape.
- A loop to insert Ribbon or chain.
- 60 mm diameter
- 3 mm thickness
Also Read: Are there any metal inside NFL football
materials used in Olympic medals
Following is the standard of materials used in all three Olympic medals gold, silver and bronze for the winners of first, second and third positions respectively.
- Gold medal for first position: 92.5% silver and 6 grams gold plated.
- Silver medal for 2nd position: 92.5% silver.
- Bronze medal for 3rd position: 95% copper, 5% zinc.
how much is an Olympic medals worth?
After knowing the history of Olympic medals and the material used to made Olympic medals now let’s come and discuss what are senior Olympic medals worth?
If we talk about the metal value used in Olympic gold medal was estimated in 2010 and was around $494, Olympic silver medal estimated around $260 whereas bonze medal for $3 only.
In 2020 Summer Olympics held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan the value of Olympic gold medal was worth around $800, Olympic silver medal worth around $460 and Olympic Bronze medal worth around $5. This is the estimated cost as per the metal used in Olympic medals.
However many countries offer some amount of money with medal to reward their Olympic champions including United States. Currently United States Olympic Committee gives its Olympic winners cash prize of $ 37,500 to Gold Olympic winners, $22,500 to Silver Olympic winners and $15,000 to Bronze Olympic winners.
If you look at the history of Olympic gold medalist rewards then you will get to know that Azerbaijan offered in 2012 London Olympics the cash prize of $510,000 to the Gold Medal winner.
If you put your Olympic medal in an auction instead of going to a goldsmith or to melt it, you will receive handsome amount of money. If you put a glance on the current value of Olympic medals in An auction then you will come to know that a Gold medal sells at around $20,000-$50,000, Silver Medal at around $10,000 to $30,000 in an auction where as a bronze Olympic medal sells at under $ 10,000 in auction.
You can also take the reference at Wikipedia here.
Q: How much are the Olympic medals worth 2022?
A: Olympic gold medals worth $800 as per London Olympics 2021, silver medal $460 and bronze medal $5 only.
Q: Do Olympians get paid for winning medals?
A: Yes Olympic winner get cash reward aswell for winning the game not just for attending. A Gold medal winner Olympic champion gets $37,500, a Silver Medal Olympic champion gets $22,500 and a bronze medal winner gets $15,000 reward money along with.
Q: How much is a 1912 senior Olympic gold medal worth today?
A: In 1912 solid gold used to be use to make a gold medal. If you evaluate it’s metal cost as per today’s metal or gold rate, it will worth around $20,000 as per 2022.