BOSTON, MASS.- Representing over a century of competition,
RR Auctions July 2019 sale maps the modern Olympic pathway with a diverse, in-demand selection of the rare and remarkable. Highlighted by a wealth of high-end winners medals, diplomas, torches, and pins.
Among winners medals in the online offering:
A gold winner's medal from the 2010 Vancouver Olympiad. The stunning winner's medal issued for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Gilt silver, 101 mm, 553 gm, designed by Omer Arbel and Corrine Hunt, struck by the Royal Canadian Mint. The front features embossed Olympic rings against a unique stylized pattern inspired by pods of orca, or killer whales, a theme meant to emphasize the importance of community and teamwork; the reverse bears the Inukshuk emblem of the Vancouver Games, and is engraved in French and English, "XXI Olympic Winter Games," and lists the sport as "Freestyle Skiing Men's." The medal's organic and undulating structure alludes to the mountain regions of Canada. Complete with its blue-green ribbon embroidered with emblem, "Vancouver 2010," and "With glowing hearts, des plus brillants exploits." Includes the attractive original winner's medal pouch, comprised of heavy gray heathered wool felt with magnetic upper and lower lips.
Among the most beautiful and innovative of all Olympic medals, those created for the Vancouver 2010 Games feature Canadian aboriginal art and a unique undulating form, the first Olympic medal to have such a design. The medal is among the heaviest in Olympic history; each struck nine times as part of an exhaustive 30-step fabrication process. Additionally, each of the 615 medals created for the Vancouver Games features a hand-cropped section of the artwork that ensures that no two medals are the same.
"It's an altogether rare and remarkably appealing winner's medal from the most successful Olympiad in Canadian historythe host country led all nations in gold medals with a tally of 14," said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction. "To our knowledge, this is the first time a Vancouver Winner's Medal has been ever offered at public auction.
Rome 1960 Summer Olympics Gold Winner's Medal. Brilliant winner's medal issued for the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics. Gilt silver, 69 mm, 102 gm (215 gm with chain), by Giuseppe Cassioli. The front depicts a victorious athlete being carried by a jubilant crowd; the reverse, inscribed, "Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade Roma MCMLX," features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background. This beautiful specimen is housed in its cast bronze olive leaf wreath bezel, which is engraved "Calcio [Football]," and suspended from its matching chain. Includes the rare red leather presentation case made by the Artistici Fiorentini of Firenze. To our knowledge, this is the first time a 1960 Rome Winner's medal has been offered at auction, complete with its original presentation case. The national team of Yugoslavia won the gold medal in the football tournament at the 1960 Summer Games, finishing with a 3-0-2 record and outlasting runner-up Denmark in the gold medal game with a score of 3-1 on September 10, 1960. A spectacular example of a gold medal from an iconic Summer Gamesthe most famous gold medalist was, of course, the young boxer Cassius Clay, who finished first in the light heavyweight division.
Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics Gold Winner's Medal. Rare winner's medal issued for the Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics. Gilt silver, 65 mm x 71 mm, 165 gm, by Majdanpek, Belgrade. The front, inscribed, "XIV Zimske Olimpijske Igre, Sarajevo 1984," features the Olympic rings and Sarajevo emblem; the reverse features a stylized athlete's head with laurel crown. Complete with original orange ribbon. Also Includes the original leather case. Only 95 gold medals were produced for the XIV Olympic Winter Games, and of the total of 285 medals manufactured, 222 were awarded while the balance were presented to members of the International Olympic Committee and placed for safekeeping in the Sarajevo Olympic Museum.
Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics Bronze Winner's Medal. Impressive winner's medal issued for the Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics. Bronze, 80 mm x 101 mm, 429 gm, designed by Brent Watts, produced by O. C. Tanner. The front depicts a victorious athlete with raised torch emerging from a mountainous backdrop, with embossed Olympic rings below and "Light the Fire Within" engraved to left side; the reverse features a central design of the Goddess Nike holding an olive leaf in front of a distant back-flipping skier, with the border bearing the Olympic emblem and engraved text, "Salt Lake 2002" and "Men's
Freestyle Skiing." The medal's organic form, conceived as an imperfect circle, was designed to look as if the medal had been plucked from a Utah riverbed. Complete with its dark blue ribbon with embroidered lettering: "Salt Lake 2002, Light the Fire Within." Includes the attractive wooden winner's medal case with accompanying third-place winner's certificate.
Although past Olympic medals have featured pictograms of sports, the Salt Lake City medal was the first to feature the sport in a raised sculpted design. The medals of the Salt Lake Games were pressed with two million pounds of pressure and then finished by hand, with each medal taking about 20 hours to create, and the final result among the widest, thickest, and heaviest of all Olympic medals. Of the 861 medals produced for the 2002 games, 477 were awarded during the Olympics, with the rest made in the event of ties and for the International Olympic Committee to archive at its museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. Completed by its case and certificate, this handsome, impressively designed winner's medal represents our first from the historic Salt Lake Games.
Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics Silver Winner's Medal. Extremely desirable winner's medal issued for the Melbourne 1956 Summer Olympics. Silver, 51 mm, 70 gm, by Giuseppe Cassioli; manufactured by K. G. Luke. The front, inscribed, "XVIth Olympiad, Melbourne, 1956," features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse portrays a winner with palm branch being carried by jubilant athletes. Includes the original white plastic case by K. G. Luke/Casecraft. This prize medal design had been adopted from the Amsterdam 1928 Summer Games, with the only alteration for 1956 being a change in wording to reflect the year and location. There were 280 of these gold medals produced, with 273 of them being awarded. A scarce and highly attractive second place medal from the first Olympiad to be staged in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Olympic Auction from RR Auction will conclude on July 18.