If you need to personal an especially uncommon piece of Olympic historical past, it can possible come at a price. Boston’s RR Public sale Co. is auctioning the gold medal from the 1904 Olympic Video games in St. Louis within the males’s 110m hurdles. Initially priced at US$150,000, the bidding has already elevated by nearly US$35,000 because it was listed in mid-December.
The St. Louis Video games of 1904 had been vital in Olympic historical past as the primary Video games the place prize medals had been introduced in gold, silver, and bronze to first, second, and third place winners—a convention that continues to today. Any winner’s medal from the 1904 Olympics is exceedingly uncommon, rating among the many most elusive of all Olympic prizes.
The Video games had been one of many essential points of interest on the 1904 World’s Honest, which drew 19.7 million attendees on a 124-acre web site. The Olympic occasions had been dominated by the U.S., who gained 76 of the 97 medals throughout 16 sports activities, together with a sweep within the males’s 110m hurdles. U.S. nationwide champion Fred Schule gained the gold in 16 seconds flat.
Now, 121 years later, the world report for the 110m hurdles stands at 12.80 seconds, set by American Aries Merritt on the Brussels Diamond League in 2012.
In accordance with the RR Public sale web site, the medal is in wonderful situation for its age and consists of a lot of the unique ribbon and the case it got here in. The medal additionally bears the occasion’s identify, which varies with every version of the Video games. Every host metropolis has the artistic freedom to design its medals, which can lead to quite a lot of types and/or distinct options.
The 1904 Video games marked the primary time the U.S. hosted the Olympics, which they’ve since hosted seven extra occasions (4 Summer time and 4 Winter Video games). They’ll host their ninth and tenth Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 and Salt Lake Metropolis in 2034.
The bidding for the medal will finish on Jan. 16.