Here's How Much Olympic Gold Medals Are Worth

Featured image credit: PA

This article originally featured on TheLADbible

It turns out we've been completely hoodwinked when it comes to the 'gold' medals at the Olympics.

Some athletes might get to the point where they think about selling off their gold to bring in a bit of extra cash, and I'm sure some actually have in the past, but they're not worth as much as you might think.

For starters, the medals aren't 100% gold, and haven't been since 1912, when Stockholm hosted the games. They're actually made up of an alloy of silver and copper, and are only about one percent gold.

It could well be a chocolate coin, Michael. Credit: PA

Melted, the medals would be worth about $587 (£454) in current market prices, reports the Denver Post.

Wladimir Klitschko sold his 1994 medal for a reported $1million in 2012, which is quite a figure.

I have no shame in revealing that £454 actually sounds like a tasty sum of money to me, and I wouldn't hesitate selling a medal if I had the ability to win one.

Words by Mark McGowan

Topics: olympics

Mark McGowan

Mark is a journalist at LADbible, who joined in 2015 after a year as a freelance writer. In the past he blogged for independent football fan channel Redmen TV, after graduating from Staffordshire University with degrees in journalism and English literature. He has worked on campaigns such as UOKM8? and IIOC.