World Cup trophy’s true value revealed – 264 times more than 1966 | World | News
The FIFA World Cup Trophy reigns supreme as the most expensive trophy on Earth, according to new analysis by precious metals platform BullionVault. The platform analysed the weight and composition of metals to find the most valuable sports trophies.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy took the number one spot with a theoretical metal value of £658,693 ($882,000). Due to the significant appreciation of precious metals over the past six decades, the same trophy’s raw metal would have been valued at just £2,498 in 1966, the year England last lifted the title.
The FIFA World Cup Trophy narrowly edges out horse racing’s legendary Kentucky Derby Trophy – that is worth £639,864 ($856,000). After briefly spiking to over $5,360 per ounce in March, the price of gold has since pulled back to around $4,100. But it is still higher than a year ago when it was $3,300 – and just $35 in 1966.
Dan Jay, director at BullionVault, said that the jump “perfectly illustrates gold’s enduring value as a potential hedge against inflation and currency devaluation”, adding that despite the changes, gold and silver “remain the chief materials from which the most valued trophies are made.”
Anita Wright, Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management, added that it shows how the Pound has been debased over the decades.
She said: “The same lump of gold was worth £2,498 in 1966. Today it is worth £658,693. The metal has not changed. What has collapsed is the money used to price it. That is a 264-fold rise, and it is not because gold became precious.
“It is because the Pound has been debased, year after year, by governments that spend what they do not have and central banks that print to cover the gap. Gold holds still while paper currencies sink around it. And yes, it would have been worth more in March.
“Gold sat above $5,000 an ounce then. It has since slipped back near $4,300. But that is noise. England lifting the trophy is a coin toss. Sterling losing more of its value is closer to a certainty.”
Samuel Mather-Holgate, Managing Director & IFA at Swindon-based Mather and Murray Financial, concluded that it shows just how long it’s been since England won the World Cup.
