In reality Olympic Gold medals are likely worth about $600 according to Nasdaq due to the fact that the gold medal is actually made of mostly silver. However, the real value is measured by who has won it. Let us look at some previous Olympian Gold Medal winners who have sold their medals.
Wladimir Klitschko, Ukraine, Boxing 1996
Klitschko auctioned his medal for The Klitschko Brothers Foundation for one million dollars. The bidder was a mysterious benefactor who immediately returned the medal to the man who earned it.
Mark Wells, USA, Ice Hockey 1980
Wells sold his medal to a private collector who in turn sold it through an auction house for $310,700 in 2010.
Michael Diamond, Australia, Trap Shooting 2000
The medal that Diamond won for trap shooting at the 2000 Sydney Games was bought for $72,000 by fencer Richard Oldcorn who competed for Great Britain at four Olympics but never won his own gold.
Otylia Jedrzejczak, Poland, Swimming, 2004
Her medal from the 200m butterfly went for more than $80,000 and benefited a Polish charity that helps kids with leukaemia.
Anthony Ervin, USA, Swimming 2000
Despite his success, Ervin retired from the sport in 2003 at the age of 22, saying that he “needed to kind of figure out my own life”. He put his gold medal on eBay in 2004, donating the $17,101 it earned to victims of the Indian Ocean.
So are Gold Medals easy to come by? Definitely not but they do appear from time to time so don’t give up if you’re keen to own one.
