Olympic Gold Medals: Are They Truly Made of Solid Gold?

The official rules require some pure gold, but that’s just part of what goes into a 1st place medal at the Olympics.

PARIS, France — For athletes worldwide, few achievements rival the beauty of an Olympic gold medal flashed for family and fans.

Despite its brilliance, questions linger: Is a gold medal truly gold? What is its actual worth?

Olympic medals’ composition has evolved through history.

Origins of Olympic gold medals

Ancient Greek Olympians received olive branch wreaths, as per the International Olympic Committee. The tradition of medal awarding began only in 1896 during the first modern Olympic Games, where even first-place medals were silver, and bronze went to second place, with no token for third.

Gold medals made their debut at the 1904 St. Louis Summer Games, according to the IOC.

Is the gold medal made of real gold?

Yes…and no.

Gold medals are coated in a pure gold sheet yet primarily consist of silver. The IOC mandates that both gold and silver medals contain at least 92.5% pure silver.

Paris 2024 Olympic gold medals feature six grams of gold plating and weigh 529 grams. Their silver counterparts weigh 525 grams.

Each medal also incorporates iron pieces from the Eiffel Tower. These iron bits, preserved from the tower’s renovations, are embedded centrally, as detailed by Joachim Roncin, the Paris Games’ head of design.

Designed by Parisian jeweler Chaumet, the medals’ small clasps nod to the Eiffel Tower’s 2.5 million rivets. Surrounding the iron pieces are recycled disks of gold, silver, or bronze, designed to shimmer with crinkled surfaces in the light.

How much is a gold medal worth?

The value of each medal depends on the fluctuating market prices of precious metals.

At the 2022 Winter Olympics, the metal content valued each medal around $750. Although the medals’ sentimental worth is immeasurable for the athletes, their rarity and prestige often translate into significant collector’s value, with some fetching tens of thousands of dollars at auctions.