Soaring Gold Prices Push Olympic Gold Medal Cost to 3.4 Million Won, a Record High

Surging gold and silver prices are expected to make the medals awarded at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics the most expensive Olympic medals in history.

CNN estimated on the 5th (local time) that the metal value of a gold medal at these Winter Games will reach about 2,300 dollars (approximately 3.38 million won). This is roughly double the metal cost of a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. The metal value of a silver medal is also estimated at about 1,400 dollars (approximately 2.05 million won), nearly three times higher than at the Paris Olympics.

With gold and silver prices surging, the medals to be awarded at the 2026 Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics are expected to be the most expensive Olympic medals in history. Xinhua and Yonhap News Agency

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This surge is driven by a sharp rise in international precious metal prices. According to financial data provider FactSet, since the Paris Olympics in July 2024, spot prices of gold and silver have soared by about 107% and 200%, respectively. Analysts point to increased foreign reserve holdings by major central banks and heightened preference for safe assets amid geopolitical instability as the main factors.

Against this backdrop, the medals for these Olympics are being produced from recycled metal by the Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute. Of the gold medal's total weight of 506 grams, pure gold accounts for only about 6 grams, with the remainder made of silver. More than 92.5% of the silver medal's total weight is pure silver, while the 420-gram bronze medal is made entirely of copper, giving it a metal value of only about 5.6 dollars.

Experts believe the production cost of Olympic medals is likely to rise further in the future. Ole Hansen, Head of Commodity Strategy at Danish investment bank Saxo Bank, forecast that "at the next Summer Olympics in 2028, the prices of gold and silver medals will be higher than at the current Winter Games." However, the value of an Olympic medal is not determined solely by the price of its metal content. CNN noted, "As collectibles, Olympic medals can be traded at prices far exceeding their monetary value," adding that "a gold medal from the 1912 Stockholm Olympics sold for 26,000 dollars at auction in 2015." It went on to say, "However, most Olympic medals are never sold."

At these Olympics, environment and sustainability are also key themes for the medals. For the first time in Olympic history, the medals for these Games have been produced using recycled metal recovered from metal waste, and the casting process has been carried out in induction furnaces powered 100% by renewable energy. Observers say the entire medal production process reflects the Olympics' commitment to reducing environmental costs.

At these Olympic Games, the environment and sustainability are also key themes for the medals. For the first time in Olympic history, the medals for these Games were produced using recycled metal recovered from metal waste. International Olympic Committee

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Meanwhile, Olympic medals did not always have the same form and value they do today. At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, the prize for first place was not a gold medal but a silver medal. The gold-silver-bronze medal system was introduced at the 1900 Paris Olympics, but the medals were rectangular. The round gold medal shape we are familiar with today first appeared at the 1904 St. Louis Olympics. However, the era of solid gold medals did not last long. After the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, gold medals were changed to silver cores plated with gold. Although there have been recent calls for the return of solid gold medals, many experts say such a change is unrealistic in today's market, where gold and silver prices have surged.

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