Olympic golds shine as value rises

With the gold price at a record high, Olympic gold medals are worth more now than ever before – around $900 each, in terms of raw materials


Paris Olympic medals contain small piece of Eiffel Tower


HOW SOARING PRICES BENEFIT OLYMPIANS*($)

Gold price per ounce (adjusted for inflation)


		
		
			

			2,482.40	2,500
			1300GMT		2,000 
			AUG 12		1,500 
					1,000
Medal value				500
					0
1952 60 68 76 84 92 2000 08 16 24


In reality, Olympic gold medals are worth much more than their metal composition. In 2013, one gold medal won by U.S. athlete Jesse Owens at 1936 Berlin Olympics (pictured above holding his four Olympic medals, circa 1955) sold at auction for almost $1.5 million


*Estimates based on IOC regulated medal composition of 6 grammes of gold and 92.5% silver


Sources: Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance 
Picture: Getty Images 
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