1896 Olympic medal sells for £25,000
A 126-YEAR-OLD bronze medal from the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 has sold at a Midland auction for £25,000 after spending decades gathering dust in a drawer.
The two-inch wide award was actually given to athletes who finished in second place – along with a laurel branch – at events held at the first ever international Olympic Games in Athens.
The rare medal was handed down the same family for a number of generations until one relative came across it during a recent clear-out at her home in Shropshire.
The owner had no idea what it was until they decided to get a valuation and were left stunned to discover they had an Olympic treasure.
It was designed by French sculptor J.C.Chaplain and features an image of the Ancient Greek god Zeus next to the the word ‘Olympia’.
On the reverse, the words ‘‘First International Olympic Games, Athens 1896’’, are inscribed in Greek and the edge is stamped ‘‘Bronze’’.
The medal went under the hammer at Mullocks Auctioneers, in Ludlow, recently where it sold to a private bidder for £25,000.
Ben Jones, from Mullock’s Auctioneers, said: ‘‘Any winner’s medal from the historic debut of the Olympic Games remain exceedingly rare and are highly desirable within the world of sport.
“This medal has been handed down the family for a number of generations without anyone really looking, or knowing what it is. It was kept in a drawer until the vendor decided to have a clear out and came across it and decided to get a second opinion.”
In total, 43 second place medals were awarded across nine different sports and only three British athletes received them. Mystery surrounds who this particular medal was awarded to.
During the inaugural Olympic Games, winners were given a silver medal and an olive branch while a copper medal and a laurel branch were awarded to runners up. A total of 14 nations and 241 athletes competed at the games with all participants being European apart from the United States team, which won the most medals.
Athens was chosen as the first host of the modern games because Greece was considered the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games, dating back to 776 BC.
The nine sports featured were athletics, cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting and tennis.