Christie’s Offers NGC-certified Olympic Medal from the First Modern Olympics

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This Greece 1896-dated Silver Medal from the First Modern Olympics graded NGC UNC Details features an obverse with Zeus and the goddess Victory, while the reverse shows the ruins of the Acropolis in Athens.

This medal previously realized €47,200 (about $55,500) at an April 2021 sale presented by A. Karamitsos, an auction house specializing in Greek rarities. To learn more about that sale, click here.

The original Greek Olympics began in 776 B.C. and were held every four years in Olympia, Greece, in honor of the god Zeus. The games were last recorded in in A.D. 393 when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I, who had converted to Christianity, banned all pagan festivals, including the Olympic Games. The games resumed in Athens, Greece, in 1896 after being revived by Pierre de Coubertin, a French educator and historian who believed that a modern version of the Olympics could promote international peace and understanding through sports.

At these inaugural games in 1896, the silver medal was the top prize for athletes; these accomplishments are now considered gold-medal achievements. According to Christie’s, there were about 75 silver medals were awarded for first place, while copper medals were given to second-place winners. No medals were awarded for third place, and gold medals were not introduced until the 1904 games.