With Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky, Gabby Thomas and more athletes earning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Us Weekly started wondering how much their wins are worth.
Jewelry expert Maxwell Stone from Steven Stone told Us the medals actually aren’t “made of solid gold.” Instead, the trophies are 92.5 percent pure silver plated with “at least 6 grams of 24-carat gold.”
“The value of a gold medal depends on the current market prices of silver and gold,” Stone explained. “Presently, 1 gram of gold is valued at $74.94, while 1 gram of silver is priced at $0.73. Based on these prices, a gold medal is currently worth approximately $831.43.”
Stone noted that because the medals are not made of solid gold, the pieces can get “dents and scratches” when bitten by athletes after their wins.
Biles, 27, was seen biting one of her gold medals with the rest of her teammates — including Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera — after they won the women’s artistic gymnastics team final on July 30.
The women wrapped their arms around each other while placing their medals in between their teeth and smiling.
Biles won two more gold medals throughout the Paris Games for her performance in the women’s artistic individual all-around and women’s vault competitions. She also took home a silver medal in the floor exercise final.
Ledecky, 27, meanwhile, scored gold for winning the women’s 800-meter swimming freestyle final on August 3. She also won a gold medal in the women’s 1500-meter freestyle, a silver medal in the women’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay race and a bronze medal in the women’s 400-meter freestyle.
Thomas, 27, also took home gold for winning the women’s 200-meter sprint on Tuesday, August 6.
