How much are Olympic Games medals worth?
(CNN) -- Olympians participating in Tokyo 2020 are vying for the chance to write a page in the history books and hopefully take home a medal.
If you win a medal, whether it's gold, silver or bronze, it's priceless.
Former British heptathlete Kelly Sotherton, who won a bronze in the heptathlon at Athens 2004 and another in the 4x400m relay at Beijing 2008, told CNN Sport that her medals are a reminder of how much hard work and effort she gave her. fruits.
"I would never sell my medals," Sotherton told CNN Sport on Friday. "They mean a lot."
Sotherton commented that she keeps her medals within easy reach instead of putting them in a frame.
advertising"I think sometimes it's nice to put them on," she added.
Taking into account the design of the Tokyo 2020 medals, how much would they be worth?
The silver, gold, and bronze medals (from left to right) used at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The design of the medals changes in each game, and this time they are the work of Junichi Kawanishi.
Each of the gold, silver and bronze medals are 85 millimeters in diameter and range in thickness from 7.7 to 12.1 mm.
The gold medal is made of pure silver plated with gold, with about 6 grams of gold for a total weight of 556 grams.
The silver medal is made of pure silver and weighs about 550 grams, while the bronze medal weighs approximately 450 grams and is actually made of 95% copper and 5% zinc.
At current prices, this means the gold medal would be worth about $800 if melted down, while the silver would be worth about $450 and the bronze about $5.
Price of medals from past Olympic Games
Earlier this month, a winner's medal from the 1896 Athens Olympics sold for $180,000 at auction, Cuban shooter Leuris Pupo's gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics fetched $73,200, and compatriot Iván Pedroso's long jump gold medal from Sydney 2000 sold for $71,335. All three were sold by Boston-based RR Auction.
At the 1896 Olympics — the first modern Olympics — winners received silver medals and runners-up won bronze, according to RR Auction.
But those prices dwarf the $1.46 million that was paid for Jesse Owens' gold medal from the 1936 Berlin Olympics at auction in 2013.
This medal is considered one of the most important in the history of the Olympic Games and is one of the four that Owens, a black American, won in the 1936 games, spoiling the exhibition of Aryan superiority that Adolf planned. Hitler.
Olympians tend to keep the medals they've won, Richard Gladdle of London's Baldwin's auction house told CNN Sport.
"They rarely go on sale," Gladdle told CNN Sport on Friday. When they go up for auction, it's usually for philanthropic reasons, Gladdle added.
The only Olympic medal Baldwin's has sold was a gold medal from 1912, the last year they were made in gold.
olympic games medals
