Article by Mihai Șovei – Published Thursday, February 12, 2026, 4:05 p.m. / Updated Thursday, February 12, 2026, 4:06 p.m.
Olympic medals are the dream of every athlete present at the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cotina, but their material value is often surprisingly small.
As athletes fight for honor and glory, the value of the metal they wear around their necks can be less than the price of a regular meal, something that has generated some discontent at the current Olympics.
The bronze, cheaper than a burger
The bronze medals were particularly the target of criticism. They are composed of approximately 420 grams of copper, and their pure material value is only 4.18 euros. In other words, a bronze medal is cheaper than a burger, according to sportal.blic.rs.
The reason is simple: bronze is not a precious metal, but an alloy containing at least 60% copper, with additions of other metals such as tin, aluminum or lead, so it does not contain expensive precious metals.
Bronze medal / Imago Images
The value of silver and gold
The value of the other distinctions is considerably higher.
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A silver medal it is composed of approximately 500 grams of pure silver and has a material value of 1,136.21 euros
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Gold medal it, in turn, is made of silver inside and only gold plated. Its metal value is of 1,818.55 euros
It is interesting to note that the prices of precious metals have doubled compared to the 2024 Olympics. Then, the material value of a gold medal was around 730 euros. The sharp increase in gold and silver prices was felt in the Olympic Games as well.
The medals from this edition were produced by the Italian State Mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Statoand according to official data, recycled metals from own production waste were used for their manufacture.
Gold and silver medals / Imago Images
The last pure gold medals
The last pure gold Olympic medal was awarded in 1912, at the Olympic Games in Stockholm. It then weighed 26 grams and was worth about 20 US dollars. According to current gold prices, its material value would be over 4,000 euros.
Since then, Olympic gold is no longer solid gold. In the end, despite the enormous material differences, for sportsmen and women it is not the price of the metal that matters, but the priceless moment on the podium.
Gold medals from the 1912 Olympic Games / photo: olympics.com
