Redfish, yeah, I saw that report that the gold medal has about $600 worth of precious metals, the silver has around $300-$400, and the bronze has about $6. (No, that's not a typo.) But they will also bring huge amounts if they are ever auctioned.
The determination of the value has proven to be a bone of contention for other memorabilia as well. I remember the situation of a guy who caught one of Barry Bonds milestone homeruns (I forget which one), and wanted to keep it. The IRS tried to say that obtaining the ball counts as income, and he thus owes taxes on the value of the ball, which they were valuing at the price it would bring in at auction--a high enough amount that the only way he could have paid the taxes would be to sell the ball. He was attempting to counter that argument by saying that until he puts the ball up for sale, and the market causes the value to change, it's just a ball, and therefore has a value of about $3. I never heard what the eventual outcome was. But I personally thought he shouldn't have to pay anything on it until he decides to sell it and realizes the market value.
