Boston auction house puts Olympics to bid

A Boston-based auction house is putting nearly 150 Olympic-themed items up for sale.

The 144 pieces of Olympic memorabilia include an autograph of Jesse Owens, the track-and-field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Games.

Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction, told the Herald that this sale has the most medals ever in the company’s history, a total of 35 Olympic winner’s medals.

There is an Athens 1875 Olympics silver medal up for sale. A gold medal from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio is also up for sale, something that even surprised Livingston. “To have a gold medal on the market two years later is fresh and exciting,” he said.

Another item is a complete Lake Placid set of three winner’s medals, originating from the collection of the Rev. J. Bernard Fell, a pastor who helped bring the 1980 Winter Olympics to his hometown of Lake Placid, N.Y.

“You can see the transformation of the artwork and logos through the decades as they celebrate athleticism,” said Livingston. “The original artwork on the coins are crafted with great skill and care despite a new Olympics every four years. It’s nice to see museum quality of these artifacts in one sale.”

Among the items expected to fetch the highest bids are the Olympic torches, including the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics torch.

“They usually give it to the dignitaries,” Livingston said. “This key item is the rarest and one the most sought-after, estimated at over $200,000.”