Spring Premier Auction 2016

Featured here is an extremely rare artifact from the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympics: a 1st Place Winner’s Solid Gold Medal for an individual event. These were the last Games to issue solid gold medals, awarded only to individual event Champions. Gold medal-winning team members received gold-plated silver medals, a standard that was adopted for any gold medal recipient at subsequent Olympics. Just 90 solid gold medals were minted by C.C. Sporrong & Co. (including two won by the legendary Jim Thorpe) as opposed to 200 gold-plated medals. They were among the smallest and most intricately detailed winner’s medals ever issued. The obverse, designed by Bertram Mackennal, shows two women crowning a victorious athlete with a laurel wreath. The reverse, designed by Erik Lindberg, shows a herald opening the Games and a statue of Pehr Henrik Ling (Swedish gymnastics pioneer) surrounded by “1912 OLYMPISKA SPELEN STOCKHOLM.” This medal has been re-polished and set in bezel with a loop at the top added (for wearing as a necklace). It weighs 28 grams and measures 36mm in diameter and 2mm thick—the additions accounting for the minor size disparity of an all-original example. Normally, such customizations might detract from a medal’s overall value. But in this case, it has been preserved in nearly pristine condition, certainly better than a century-old medal left in its original state. The medal presents beautifully and comes in its original green presentation case. For reference, to the rarity and prestige of 1912 solid gold medals. an all-original example sold for $35,850 in 2014. While the solid gold content cannot be professionally tested without removing the bezel setting, Swiss professional jewelry expert Jean-Jacques Mamie has confirmed that it has the weight and feel of the accurate specifications of a 1912 solid gold medal.