# How much is it going to cost Michael Phelps to bring his gold medals into the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2008, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415 "2008-08-18T13:48:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/21 "2008-08-20T01:03:35Z")
Until I read **bibliophage** ’s post, I thought that was just what they did! The only one I’ve ever seen in person was a Bronze won by a guy I know at Munich. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/22 "2008-08-20T01:04:05Z")
Also, isn’t gold a rather soft metal? I don’t think a solid 24K gold medal would be very practical. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/23 "2008-08-20T01:05:57Z")
[QUOTE=Dewey Finn] Also, isn’t gold a rather soft metal? I don’t think a solid 24K gold medal would be very practical. [/QUOTE] Practical for what? Hanging around someone’s neck? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/24 "2008-08-20T01:10:28Z")
Well, if you dropped your solid gold medal, I think it would dent or warp, but then I’ve only had very limited experience handling sold gold items, so what do I know? Edited to add that I doubt that cost is the issue, at least not with these games. I heard the Chinese government spent $40 billion. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/25 "2008-08-20T01:12:45Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Wtf, I knew they weren’t solid gold but that just sounds cheap. There are beer league softball trophies that cost more. [/QUOTE] Cost more, or have a higher raw materials cost? There’s a difference … ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/26 "2008-08-20T01:32:14Z")
[QUOTE=SCSimmons] Cost more, or have a higher raw materials cost? There’s a difference … [/QUOTE] Explain the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/27 "2008-08-20T01:47:12Z")
If you’re making a relatively low number of the medals, your design and manufacturing costs are relatively high per finished item. If you’re making softball trophies that you can sell for decades, you might charge a lower per item profit, meaning you could have a lower finished/retail cost while possibly having a higher cost in raw materials. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/28 "2008-08-20T01:51:00Z")
The point is not to save money. One point is that they don’t want to temp anyone who wins a medal to melt it down for the money or make them targets for thieves who would melt them down. It’s major worth is as an Olympic gold metal, and as such the true owner will be immediately evident. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/29 "2008-08-20T04:05:13Z")
I saw on Sportscenter that the value of the metal in the medal was $ 220. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/30 "2008-08-20T09:13:00Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Explain the difference. [/QUOTE] Your beer league softball trophy utilizes $10 worth of aluminum and wood, if it costs $250 to buy, it’s because you have to pay for someone to design it, build it and make a profit selling it to you Gold medals use $250+ worth of materials, are designed and built with a much higher level of care and artistry, but you don’t see that because nobody is building them in an effort to make a profit. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/31 "2008-08-20T12:02:51Z")
[QUOTE=SandyHook] While duty free, are they tax free? Wouldn’t think so. Prizes and awards are generally considered taxable income. For instance, if you win a car in a raffle you have to pay taxes on the fair market value of the car. [/QUOTE] If the medals come with cash, that is taxable. Question is, do Olympic medals come with cash? The medal itself isn’t, any more than a university diploma would be taxable. ---
**Author:** ![Standup\_Karmic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Standup\_Karmic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Standup_Karmic)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/32 "2008-08-20T14:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] Sorry, I was imprecise. Gold plating a silver medal makes the the Olympic Committee look cheap, not the medal itself. [/QUOTE] What? Undergraduate and graduate degrees are BOTH printed on paper? I understand it for an undergrad, but printing a doctorate on paper just makes them look cheap. Shouldn’t they laser-etch it onto, say, a Lamborghini? He who values the medal (or any other celebration of achievement) on the basis of the raw materials therein entirely misses the point of the award. Hell, if it was about transfer of valuable materials, why not just give the Olympian fifty bucks and tell him/her to go buy themselves something pretty? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/33 "2008-08-20T14:08:14Z")
I’m sure the Chinese government outsourced the production of the medals to… oh wait, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/34 "2008-08-20T14:09:00Z")
[QUOTE=Standup Karmic] What? Undergraduate and graduate degrees are BOTH printed on paper? I understand it for an undergrad, but printing a doctorate on paper just makes them look cheap. Shouldn’t they laser-etch it onto, say, a Lamborghini? [/QUOTE] My university never billed my diploma as anything other than paper, so that really doesn’t apply. > [@](#): > > He who values the medal (or any other celebration of achievement) on the basis of the raw materials therein entirely misses the point of the award. Tell that to the Olympic Committee, who wants the cachet of the term Gold Medal, when it really isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/35 "2008-08-20T14:35:46Z")
And also tell it to the manufacturer of Gold Medal Flour. There’s just white powder in there! ---
**Author:** ![ok11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8baadc/32.png) [@ok11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ok11)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/36 "2008-08-20T17:43:08Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] If the medals come with cash, that is taxable. Question is, do Olympic medals come with cash? The medal itself isn’t, any more than a university diploma would be taxable. [/QUOTE] According to [CNN Money](http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/19/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/index.htm), US Olympic Committee pays athletes for winning a medal. For example, in 2004 gold medal winners received $25,000. As far as your second comment, I think it’s the opposite: technically both diplomas and medals are taxable prizes/awards. It’s just that the IRS wouldn’t make you include the fair market value of a diploma in your gross income because it’s de minimus. It would be like making you include the price of a bottle of soda, if you redeemed a winning twist-off cap. It wouldn’t be administratively worth it for the IRS to go after you. The medal, on the other hand, has a relatively high fair market value. Still, even though technically the medals are taxable, I’m not sure whether the IRS would try to enforce that rule in practice. It wouldn’t be good for PR, and the IRS may lose in court. TaxProf Blog has a nice (but short) entry about [Tax Treatment of Olympic Athletes](http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2006/02/tax_treatment_o.html). It mentions another case about an athlete. One of the issues was whether the athlete’s award was taxable. The court sided with the IRS, but said, > [@](#): > > The law as it presently exists requires the foregoing conclusion. We dislike it, for we are convinced it is an inequitable result. The next step would be for the Internal Revenue Service to tax the gold and silver in the medals awarded to Olympic Games’ winners. ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/37 "2008-08-20T20:44:58Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Wtf, I knew they weren’t solid gold but that just sounds cheap. There are beer league softball trophies that cost more. [/QUOTE] Goes with the Olympic ideal - the ancient Greeks competed for a crown of olive leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/38 "2008-08-20T20:55:43Z")
[QUOTE=Spiny Norman] Goes with the Olympic ideal - the ancient Greeks competed for a crown of olive leaves. [/QUOTE] Which were really laurel leaves painted to resemble olive leaves. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/39 "2008-08-20T21:07:42Z")
[QUOTE=ok11] According to [CNN Money](http://money.cnn.com/2004/08/19/commentary/column_sportsbiz/sportsbiz/index.htm), US Olympic Committee pays athletes for winning a medal. For example, in 2004 gold medal winners received $25,000. [/QUOTE] In addition, the national sports federations in several sports also pay bonuses for medals, and Phelps gets some [mad phat cash](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a0.ydVm1py6o&refer=asia) from his sponsors: > [@](#): > > Phelps collected $480,000 from USA Swimming and another $200,000 from the U.S. Olympic Committee for his record eight gold medals in Beijing… > > The U.S. Olympic Committee introduced bonuses at the Barcelona Games in 1992 and now hands out $25,000 for a gold. Phelps also got $1 million from one of his sponsors, Speedo, for reaching Mark Spitz’s one-Games record of seven titles – making him $1.68 million and eight gold medals better off than last month. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415/40 "2008-08-20T21:15:28Z")
For those interested: Details of the Beijing medals [here.](http://en.beijing2008.cn/67/83/article214028367.shtml) > [@](#): > > The medals for the champion and the runner-up are made of pure silver, and the champion’s medal must be plated with gold weighing not less than six grams each. Photos of the winter medals since 1924 [here](http://medalcount.com/wintergallery.html) and the summer medals since 1896 [here.](http://medalcount.com/summergallery.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-is-it-going-to-cost-michael-phelps-to-bring-his-gold-medals-into-the-usa/460415.md?page=3)