Soaring Gold and Silver Prices Push Milan-Cortina Olympic Medals to Record Metal Value

Gold medals for these Olympics were made by Italy’s state mint using recycled metals. They look gold on the outside but are filled with pure silver inside. Photo: Yonhap/Reuters — Gold medals for these Olympics were made by Italy’s state mint using recycled metals. They look gold on the outside but are filled with pure silver inside. [Photo=Yonhap·Reuters]

The athletes who step onto the podium at the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Winter Olympics will take home honor — and what is being described as the most expensive medals ever, driven by a global surge in gold and silver prices.

CNN reported on Feb. 5 local time that more than 700 gold, silver and bronze medals are expected to be awarded across events including skiing, ice hockey, figure skating and curling. While the symbolic value of a medal cannot be priced, CNN said the metal value alone is at a record high.

The jump reflects a sharp rise in precious-metals prices. According to financial data provider FactSet, since the Paris Olympics in July 2024, spot gold has risen about 107% and spot silver about 200%.

As a result, a Winter Olympics gold medal is valued at about US$2,300 (about 3.38 million won), and a silver medal at about US$1,400 (about 2.06 million won). That is more than double the Paris 2024 level for gold medals and more than triple for silver medals.

Italy’s state mint made the gold medals using recycled metals. Although they appear gold, they are filled with pure silver. Under International Olympic Committee rules, gold medals must be based on at least 92.5% pure silver and plated with at least 6 grams of gold. For this Games, the gold medal is made with 500 grams of 99.9% silver and plated with 6 grams of gold, for a total weight of 506 grams.

By contrast, the raw-material value of a bronze medal — made with about 420 grams of copper — is about US$5.60 (about 7,500 won) each.

Analysts expect precious-metals prices to remain strong, which could push medal values higher in future Olympics. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark-based investment bank Saxo Bank, said demand is likely to hold up given geopolitical uncertainty and rising government debt. He predicted medals for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be much more expensive than those for Milan.

Still, medals are not valued only by their metal content. CNN noted that Olympic medals can sell for far more as collectibles, citing a 1912 Stockholm Olympics gold medal that sold for US$26,000 (38.22 million won) in 2015. CNN added, however, that most Olympic medals are never sold.

* This article has been translated by AI.

Kang Sang Heon