Smith & Singer
3

The Games of the XVI Olympiad Gold Medal
Melbourne 1956

Gilt silver

Estimate $60,000 – $80,000

JUMP TO LOT +



Alternate Views

Awarded for the 1500m men's freestyle swimming final race held on 7 December 1956.

From 1928 to 1968, the medals for the Summer Olympic Games were identical, depicting a design first used for medals awarded at the Games of the IX Olympiad (Amsterdam 1928), created by Florentine artist Giuseppe Cassioli (1865-1942) and chosen after a competition organised by the International Olympic Committee.

The obverse embossed with the goddess of victory, holding a palm in her left hand and a winner’s crown in her right. Embossed with the specific inscription 'XVIth | OLYMPIAD | MELBOURNE | 1956' and inscribed with the name of the mint, K.G. Luke Ltd.

The reverse depicts an Olympic champion carried in triumph by the crowd, with the Olympic stadium in the background.

Gilt silver
68 grams; diameter 51 mm

  • Lot Sold $115,000 (Hammer Price)
  • $141,136 (Hammer Price with Buyer's Premium)

Provenance

Murray Rose AM, Sydney
The Estate of the Late Murray Rose AM, Sydney

Exhibited

National Sports Museum, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, 1987 - 21 September 2020

Literature

Murray Rose, Life is Worth Swimming, Arbon Publishing, Sydney, 2013, pp. 78, 92 (illustrated)

CONTACT INFORMATION +

Jewellery Specialists

Rebecca Sheahan, Specialist 2021

Rebecca Sheahan

Specialist,
Jewels & Watches

Melbourne
T: 61 (0)3 9508 9900            
E: Rebecca Sheahan

Emma Finn

Emma Finn

Specialist,
Jewels & Watches

Sydney
T: 61 (0)2 9302 2402           
E: Emma Finn

  

  

      

Art & Objects of Virtu Specialists

Geoffrey Smith

Geoffrey Smith

Chairman

Australian & International Art 
Melbourne  |  Sydney 
T: +61 (0)3 9508 9900 
T: +61 (0)2 9302 2402 
E: Geoffrey Smith

Gary Singer

Chief Executive Officer

Australian & International Art 
Melbourne  |  Sydney 
T: +61 (0)3 9508 9900 
T: +61 (0)2 9302 2402 
E: Gary Singer

We use our own and third party cookies to enable you to navigate around our Site, use its features and engage on social media, and to allow us to perform analytics, remember your preferences, provide services that you have requested and produce content and advertisements tailored to your interests, both on our Site as well as others. For more information, or to learn how to change your cookie or marketing preferences, please see our updated Privacy Policy & Cookie Policy.

By continuing to use our Site, you consent to our use of cookies and to the practices described in our updated Privacy Policy.

CONTINUE