With the 2024 in Paris right around the corner, athletes from 206 countries will fly to France to compete for their nation. Each of them will be hoping to get their hands on a medal, with a gold being the ultimate prize. Given the sacrifices that Olympic athletes make in their careers, a medal from the games is rightfully seen as being priceless by many.
However, in the modern world, everything has a price and Olympic medals are no exception. Per Swim Swan, a gold medal from the swimming event at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp recently sold for (£9,290). While not every medal would fetch that sort of price, most would be expected to generate a four-figure sum at a minimum if they went under the hammer.
Such bids are naturally made because of the significance of the story behind the medals and not because of the actual value of the raw materials contained within them. Swim Swam have revealed the of each Olympic medal if its owner were to melt it down and sell it for scrap - and the results are eye-opening. Even the most-prized award - an Olympic gold - comes with its own surprise.
Despite its name, each gold medal is actually made from 92.5% silver, with a requirement that it must contain at least six grams of gold. Below is a summary of the total commoditised (scrap metal) value of each medal.
Market Value of a 2024 Olympic Bronze Medal Weight 455g Composition 95% copper/5% zinc Value of metals 415.15g of copper = £2.98 21.
85g of zinc = £0.04 18g of wrought iron = Nil Total .