2026 Olympic medals will be the most expensive in the Games' history
William Morgan
Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/Emmanuele Ciancaglini
A new and highly sought-after piece of bling is about to hit the streets of Milan as the 2026 Winter Olympic Games officially get underway in Italy.
That is, of course, one of the Winter Olympics' gold medals. But thanks to a surge in global metal prices as a consequence of increasing instability, this year's medals will be the most expensive ever made.
More than 700 medals will be handed out to competitors across the Milan-Cortina games' 16 sports, which officially kicked off today (February 6), with an elaborate opening ceremony featuring Mariah Carey.
Each one will cost the hosts as much as three times the amount paid for each medal awarded at the 2024 Paris Olympics, due to the skyrocketing prices of gold and silver, which have doubled and tripled, respectively, in this time.
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This is because governments around the world are buying up large amounts of gold to fill their reserves as the international order looks increasingly unstable, meaning the rare metal is now worth around $5,000 per troy ounce, which is an industry measure.
According to CNN analysis, this is a 250 percent increase in just two years, with a notable uptick towards the start of 2025.
The price of less-valuable silver has increased at an even higher rate, hitting a peak of $117 per troy ounce at the end of January, after being worth $23 just two years ago.
Silver has seen this increase as a result of growing demand around the world, with it becoming increasingly popular with jewellers as well as in emerging technologies like electric vehicles and AI data centers.
With gold and silver medals weighing just over a pound, 16 troy ounces, you might expect these hefty prizes to be worth a staggering sum. But, sadly for the competitors, Olympic medals have not been made of solid gold for around a century.
Instead, the International Olympic Committee regulations stipulate that gold medals must be made out of 92.5 percent silver, plated with six grams of pure gold. Although, as a result of the ever-fracturing global order driving up prices of both metals, this year's prizes are actually worth a considerable amount.
With gold prices doubling and silver prices nearly tripling since the 2024 Paris Olympics, even though it only has six grams of actual gold, the medal is said to be worth $2,300.
Even competitors finishing in second would get a nice chunk of cash if they, for some reason, decided to sell their silver medal, which is now reportedly worth roughly $1,400.
And that is just the value of their rare metals, some medals from older games have fetched up to $20,000 as a result of their historic value. But these mementoes of old Olympic glories rarely come up for sale due to their true value.
That is, as a symbol of the years of hard work, dedication, and world-leading skill that each competitor must display to be crowned the best in the world at their discipline.