Figure of the month: 3,473

While the value of awards such as small figurines, medals or trophies is mainly sentimental, there are exceptions. One of the most valuable: the winner’s trophy at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A total of 3,473 grams of pure gold were used to forge it, making the World Cup trophy the most expensive of all time. On the day of the final, the gold it contained was worth just under €190,000. This means that the trophy is not only a very high-quality award; it would also have recommended itself as an investment. Today, its gold would be worth more than €204,000.

Olympic medals are at the other end of the scale

An Olympic gold medal is certainly the most desirable award for any athlete. In terms of material value, however, the coveted gold medals are the last to cross the finish line. Primarily made of silver, they are gilded with a wafer-thin layer of only 6 grams of pure gold worth some €353. The total value of an Olympic gold medal is around €500. While no official data for gold medals was published at the Winter Olympics in Beijing 2022, Tokyo scored points at the 2020 Summer Games with an innovative “urban mining” campaign, collecting 6.21 million smartphones and other electronic waste with a total weight of 79,000 tonnes, resulting in 32 kilogrammes of recycled gold, amongst others.

Some cultural and scientific awards also have a lot to offer

While the annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood is obviously cost-conscious – an Oscar costs no more than US$400 to produce – the most important European film festival in Cannes does not skimp on its highest award, the Palme d’Or: the trophy has a material value of at least €25,000. Incidentally, the gold medals presented to Nobel Prize winners also come with an impressive price tag, i.e. production costs of around €9,000 per medal.