The medals for this year feature a piece of the city’s most iconic structures, the Eiffel Tower.

The gold medal only contains about six grams of pure gold which encases the exterior part of the medal. Gold medals consist mostly of silver, putting them at a value of approximately $750 to $850 dollars (based solely on the value of the materials). Silver medals are made out of pure silver, while bronze medals consist of about 95% copper and 5% zinc. But all three medals will be getting a special upgrade for the 2024 Paris Games.

The hexagonal shape is a tribute to the country’s nickname ““L’hexagone” affectionally crafted because the nation is shaped like a hexagon.The gold medal weighs 529 grams, silver 525 grams and bronze is 455 grams.

The hexagon: Every 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic medal will contain a central 18-gram, hexagonal piece of wrought iron from the monumental Eiffel Tower. The iron was removed and preserved during the 20th-century renovation.

On the back: A traditional feature of the medals since 2004, the goddess of victory Athena Nike is represented in the foreground, emerging from the Panathenaic Stadium that witnessed the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896. The Acropolis of Athens, another compulsory feature of the Olympic medals, is joined by the Eiffel Tower for the first time in the Paris 2024 design.

The Paris Mint is manufacturing 5,084 medals — about 2,600 for the Olympics and 2,400 for the Paralympics. They’ll come in a dark-blue box from Chaumet and a certificate from the Eiffel Tower Operating Co. that the iron pieces came from the monument. Paris organizers didn’t give a monetary value for the medals.

U.S. payouts

The payments offered through what the USOPC calls “Operation Gold” are unchanged for 2024. Athletes will earn $37,500 for every gold medal in Paris, $22,500 for every silver and $15,000 for each bronze.

That’s a steep decline from what other nations pay for gold. Serbia tops the list at $214,900. The U.S. is ranked 18th for gold payouts, but the U.S. typically wins more medals than other nations.

Source: International Olympic Committee, Olympic Studies Centre, NBC, USA Today, Britannica.com