What Are Olympic Medals Worth?

[Updated. Original posted by me on hubpages.com in June 2008.]

As we head into the Games of the XXX Olympiad of the modern era in London, Great Britain, the value of Olympic medals is certainly one with many answers.

History of Medals For the Summer Games

At the 1896 Athens games, the first of the modern era, the tradition of giving medals began. The winner was awarded a silver medal, with the second-place finisher being given one of copper. The obverse (front) showed Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods, holding up an orb upon which was an image of Nike, Goddess of Victory. On the reverse (back) was the Acropolis site with a Greek inscription “International Olympic Games in Athens in 1896.”

The 1900 medal for the games in Paris remains the only non-round medal. This rectangle’s obverse featured Nike holding laurel branches with Paris in the background, and its reverse has an athlete on a podium holding laurel in his upraised right hand, the Athens stadium and Acropolis in the background.

From 1904 through 1924, each host designed their own take of the obverse and reverse designs, with London in 1908 and Stockholm in 1912 sharing the same obverse of two female figures placing a laurel crown on the head of victorious male athlete (warning: artistic nudity).

The design of the medals from 1928 to 1968 remained the same. On the obverse was Nike sitting next to an amphora, holding a wreath in her upraised right hand, and cradling a palm/wheat/corn (descriptions vary) in her left. In the background is the outside of the Olympic Stadium. On the reverse was an athlete being carried on the shoulders of others, again with the Olympic stadium in the background. The only difference between games was the inscription on the obverse and the slightly different styles of the artistic representations of the scenes.

Since 1972, the obverse has preserved the tradition of Nike and the stadium, but the reverse has been designed by the host nation. In 1972: Castor and Pollux; 1976: a simple laurel wreath; 1980: A styled flame in a cauldron in front of a stylize stadium; 1984: traditional reverse; 1988: Dove with olive branch in its beak; 1992: Barcelona Olympic emblem; 1996: Atlanta Olympic emblem over stylized olive branch; 2000: Sydney Opera House, torch, Olympic rings.

For the 2004 Games in Athens, the medals were redesigned to reflect the Hellenic birth of both the ancient and modern games. The obverse now shows a large winged Nike flying into Athens’ Panathinaikos (Panathenic) stadium — bringing victory to the athlete. In the background is the Parthenon sitting upon the Acropolis. On the reverse is a flame in cauldron, the games and Olympic emblem, and the opening lines of Pindar’s Eighth Olympic Ode (in Greek).

The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games retain the new traditional obverse and the games emblem surrounded by an inlay of jade on the reverse. The 2012 London Olympic Games have the new traditional obverse with the London games logo against a stylized design of crossed lines.

History of Medals For the Winter Games

There is no codified tradition for Winter Games medal design. Countries design both the obverse and reverse, make the medals out of a variety of materials, and in general take a great deal of artistic license with them. Because of this, while there has been little in the way of controversy in regards to the medals awarded during the Summer Games, there is often a great hue and cry about the Winter medals.

The crystal medals that were awarded during the 1992 Albertville games were arguably the most attractive of the Olympic medals, but they have also been the most fragile…with many having to be replaced because they broke so easily when dropped or otherwise mishandled. Let’s see…exuberant athletes, wearing gloves, walking on snow and ice, and wanting to show off their glass medal(s)…what could go wrong?

Conversely, the robust medals from the 2006 Torino Games are widely hailed as being arguably the lest attractive of the medals, earning them the nickname of “The Olympic Bagels.”

Some Medal Facts

• Modern Olympic medals must be at least 60mm across (2.36″) and be at least 3mm (a little less than 1/8″) thick. Gold and Silver medals must be made out of 92.5% (or purer) silver. Gold medals must be gilt in at least 6g (0.21oz) of gold. Bronze medals are made of bronze.
• It was at the 1904 Games in St. Louis that gold, silver, and bronze medals were all awarded.
• The last Olympic medals made entirely out of gold were handed out in 1912.
• The first time medals were hung around the neck of victors was at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
• The coating of gold was so sparse on the 1920 and 1968 medals, that time and wear have made many look like silver medals.
• In July 2012, the value of 6g of gold stood at about $303 USD.
• The amount of silver in a gold or silver medal has massed from a low of 16.5g in 1912 to 269g in 1992 (most recent reliable figures available). Given modern requirements, this means that the smallest legal Summer Games medal will mass 169g of silver — worth $145 USD (July 2012).
• The different metal medal types in most games held before 1980 were of varying thicknesses.
• The 1908 gold medals were the costliest with 25g of solid gold worth up to $1265 USD (July 2012).

Medals Are More Than Metal

The thing is, that the value of earning an Olympic medal has never been about what the price of the base metal happened to be. As the Olympic Creed states:

The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part. Just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.

Pierre de Coubertin
co-author of the original Olympic Charter

As much as some of us appreciate that philosophy, the fact of the matter is that Olympic Games have long been about money. It was not uncommon for victors in the ancient games to receive free food for life, or housing, or other various gifts. While it’s nice to think that they did it only for the wreath of laurel and the sprig of olives they were awarded, the fact is that winning in an Olympic Games meant serious rewards were on the way.

It is so in the modern version of the games as well. While Baron de Coubertin’s high ideals were laudable, they were never practical. Before professionals were openly admitted into the games, money was often handed “under the table” to those athletes willing to bend their moral compass.

Now, medals mean money. Most national bodies award cold hard cash for medals won. The United States Olympic Committee, for example, hands out $25,000 USD for a gold medal, $15,000 for silver, and $10,000 for bronze. Some sport federations also give out awards.

Then there are endorsements, and endowments, and any number of sources of money for the marquee [gold] medalist. But that’s the key, you see. For most sports in the top countries, the draw isn’t there to make such generous gifts to all its athletes. You have to be a charismatic athlete winning in a sport that actually gets attention — which sport often depends on which country. For every gold medal winning ice skater getting multi-million dollar deals, there are dozens of gold medal winning yachters, or field hockey players, or curlers whose fame and larder never increase after their brief moment of Olympic glory.

Fortunately, many athletes hold to the high ideals of the Olympic movement. It’s the personal triumphs that mean the most.

I’ve been fortunate to have known quite a number of Olympic medalists and non-medalists. Almost all who won medals before there was national money to be had, and even those who got the cash bump, agreed that the value of the medal was in the experience itself and not any reward they received later. The fact that they could set their mind on a goal and have the opportunity to be considered and compete with the best in the world was priceless. Not one, not the gold medalists nor even the few who were unable to finish, ever told me they wished they hadn’t pursued their quest.

You see, it all comes down to this: the value of an Olympic medal isn’t what you get from it, it’s from what you put into it. Those who compete fairly know that best of all. They are Olympian not because of any momentary flash of glory, but for the steady glow of the person within.

Then again, no one ever said a $50-million endorsement contract was all bad, either.