Olympic gold medals haven’t been actual gold for over a century. The last solid, 24-karat gold medal to be awarded was at the 1912 Games in Stockholm, according to the International Olympic Committee.
Since then, they’ve been mostly made up of silver — with six grams of thin gold plating on the outside.
6 grams
pure gold
500 grams
Sterling silver
500 grams
Sterling silver
420 grams
Copper
Gold
Silver
Bronze
6 grams
pure gold
500 grams
Sterling silver
500 grams
Sterling silver
420 grams
Copper
Gold
Bronze
Silver
Source: International Olympic Committee
But especially as the prices of gold and other metals have jumped recently, those six grams make a big difference.