This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/15/2019
Featured here is a 1st Place Winner’s Olympic Gold Medal from the 1924 Paris Summer Games. Only 304 gold medals were minted (same number of silver and bronze), making it all the more special to be able to acquire one at auction. The recipient and event are unknown. USA dominated the medal count with 99 total and 45 golds, with Finland a distant second at 37 total and 14 golds, respectively.
Designed by André Rivaud and minted by Paris Mint, it is made of gold-plated gilt silver as were all post-1912 gold winner's medals. It weighs 78 grams and measures 55 mm in diameter and 3 mm thick. The obverse shows a winning athlete helping a fallen athlete to stand, with “A.RIVAUD” engraved next to Olympic rings below. The reverse shows an array of sporting equipment surrounding “VIIeme OLYMPIADE PARIS 1924”. Stamped on rim is "2 ARGENT," the latter the French word for silver to denote its internal composition. Very well-maintained in both color and texture, the medal presents NM with light to moderate wear and some minor discoloration around the rim that is not visible unless turning the medal sideways. The gold plating retains its shiny glow.The last example 1924 gold we sold at auction went for $18,214 in 2016. These are rarely offered publicly.