Feb 21, 2018

Question of the Day: What's the highest price paid for an Olympic Gold Medal at auction?

Answer: $1,466,574 (Jesse Owen's medal from the 1936 Games)

Questions:

  • How is the value of an item determined at an auction?
  • Why do you think this specific medal went for such a high price? 
  • Do you think this will be a good investment for the purchaser?  

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom

Behind the numbers (from CNN in 2013):

Jesse Owens' 1936 gold medal sold for $1,466,574 at auction Sunday, setting a record for the highest price ever paid for Olympic memorabilia. New owner Ron Burkle, a billionaire investor and co-owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team, plans to use it for a future educational tour of historic pieces. This medal is considered one of the most important in Olympics history and is one of four Owens won at the 1936 games in Berlin, spoiling Adolf Hitler's planned showcase of Aryan superiority.
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Interested in articles about collectibles as investments? Check out this post by NGPF Fellow and baseball card collector Brian Johnson 

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About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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