Two Olympic Memorabilia Auctions Underway

(ATR) The 1904 Olympic silver winner's medal for standing high jump and the famous helmet worn by a member of the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team highlight two major auctions dedicated to Games memorabilia.

The mail bid auction by California-based auctioneer Ingrid O’Neil ends tonight. For information go to www.ioneil.com.

The auction has 204 lots including the 1904 medal won by Joseph F. Stadler in its original box. It has an estimate, which is also the minimum bid, of $50,000 (plus a buyer’s fee of 15 percent).

Stadler was the first African-American athlete to win a medal in an Olympic field event. O’Neil calls it a "very rare and important medal."

RR Auction, which is based near Boston, began taking bids Thursday in its online auction ending July 21. For information, go to www.rrauction.com.

The scuffed yellow helmet worn by Dudley Stokes in the Jamaican bobsled team’s final qualifier of the 1988 Calgary Olympics is not the most expensive of the 164 lots, but it has plenty of cultural significance thanks to the 1993 film "Cool Runnings." The estimate is $3,500+ with a 22.5-percent buyer’s premium.

According to the included letter of provenance from Alan Howat, the 1988 Jamaican team captain and manager, "This was the helmet Dudley Stokes wore during the Olympics and bares (sic) the skid marks from the famous crash when he could not get his head and helmet back in the sled."

One difference in the two auctions is the minimum bid. While O’Neil begins bidding at the estimate, the RR Auction lots have much lower starter bids (although they could have a secret reserve). The helmet starts at only $300.

Changing with the Times

O’Neil tells Around the Rings that this is her last mail-bid auction as she goes online in the fall. O’Neil typically holds auctions twice a year for medals, torches, badges, pins, paper and other items.

O’Neil says she is making the change "because new collectors, they are so used to eBay and the other auction houses with everything being online."

She tells ATR she had hoped to make the change with this auction – No. 78 in a line of sales going back more than 25 years – but was not ready in time. However, O’Neil says that is the reason this auction has only 204 lots, which is fewer than her usual number.

Among the other notable lots are the 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen silver medal won by alpine skier Gustav Lautschner, which is in its original case, and has an estimate of $37,500, a 1992 Albertville silver medal in its case for $40,000, and a Lillehammer bronze medal for four-man bobsled in a wood box for $25,000. O’Neil says Lautschner starred in a number of mountain and Olympic films in the 1930s for filmmakers including Leni Riefenstahl and was a cameraman on the Riefenstahl film "Olympia."

Trees Given to 1936 Champions

Two small ceramic pots played a major part in Olympic history. The gold medalists at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games were awarded an oak tree sapling to be planted in their home country. O’Neil offers an orange-colored pot that is 11 cm high and 10cm wide at the top decorated by hand with an engraved design from Berlin for a minimum bid of $2,500. Even rarer is the pot from the sailing events at Kiel, which is brown and cream-colored ceramic and stands 18.5 cm high and 13.5 cm wide at the top. O’Neil says this pot is one that "had not been seen before" and carries a minimum bid of $3,500.

Medal from Controversial Race

The 1908 London bronze winner’s medal with an estimate of $6,000 was not awarded and O’Neil calls it "A medal with a story!" According to David Wallechinsky in "The Complete Book of the Olympics," "Few events in Olympic history have caused as much controversy as the final of the 1908 400 meters in London." When American John Carpenter ran wide to keep British runner Wyndham Halswelle from taking the lead, British officials cried "foul" and "no race" and broke the tape. Arguments ensued. The race was ordered rerun two days later, this time with strings between the lanes. However, the other two Americans in the final refused to run again. As a result, only the gold was awarded. Nowadays, the entire 400-meter race is run in lanes.

Pure Gold

RR Auction has a 1908 gold winner’s medal awarded for claybirds teams to a shooter from Great Britain with an estimate of $15,000+. "Solid gold medals were awarded at only four Games – 1900, 1904, 1908 and 1912 – making this an especially appealing early Olympic piece," says the description. The medal weighs 25 grams.

Interestingly, a 1912 Stockholm gold medal, which is actually gilt silver and weighs 18 grams, has an even higher estimate of $20,000+. According to RR, the gilt silver medals were awarded to the first-place winners of team events, while champions in individual events and a select few team competitions were awarded solid gold medals.

One of First London 2012 Medals at Auction

A gold medal from the London Games already had brisk bidding after only one day online at RR Auction. Starting at $5,000, five bidders had raised the price to $13,200, although the medal has an estimate of $30,000+. RR Auction says the event, which is inscribed along the edge of the medal, will be disclosed to the winning bidder. However, the medal "exhibits some dings and scratches," RR Auction says. "Any winner’s medals from more recent Olympic Games are extremely scarce and this is one of the very first London 2012 gold medals to be publicly offered."

Want a Winner’s Medal with No Sweat?

O’Neil is also offering a 1906 Athens silver first-place winner’s medal for teams ($4,000), a 1920 Antwerp silver medal ($7,500), a 1932 Los Angeles silver medal ($7,500), a 1968 Mexico City gold medal awarded for soccer ($12,500), a 1984 Los Angeles bronze medal for the 4x400-meter relay awarded to Nigeria ($9,000) and two Paralympic medals from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games -- a gold for swimming ($3,500) and a silver with no event inscribed ($2,750).

RR Auction has five medals from 1900 Paris ranging from $600+ to $2,000+ (for the "Concours d’Automobiles), a 1912 Stockholm silver with box ($5,000+), a 1920 Antwerp silver ($7,000+), 1924 Paris silver ($5,000+), 1928 St. Moritz bronze ($4,000+), 1952 Helsinki bronze with case ($4,000+), 1956 Cortina silver ($10,000+), 1960 Rome silver for canoeing won by Aleksandr Silayev of the Soviet Union ($8,000+), 1980 Lake Placid bronze for ice hockey ($10,000+), 1984 Sarajevo unawarded bronze ($5,000+) and a set of gold, silver and bronze manufacturer’s samples from 1996 Atlanta ($8,000+).

Torches Remain Popular

O’Neil has 24 torches for sale while RR Auction has 31. The rarest in the O’Neil auction is an Albertville for $75,000, while RR Auction has a 1988 Calgary torch with a rare relay "Mother Flame" lamp for $50,000+ and a 1952 Oslo torch engraved with the name of the torchbearer, Ragnar Navelsaker, for $75,000+. According to the description on the Oslo torch, "As the torchbearer’s name and date of participation are usually unknown for torches from these early relays, this identified example is particularly desirable."

Rio Torches Run the Gamut

While O’Neil has a $4,500 estimate on the Rio torch in her auction, which was used in the relay and has light discoloration on top, the Rio torch in the RR auction has an estimate of $6,000. RR touts it as "an exceedingly rare opportunity to own an Olympic torch prior to the conclusion of the relay."

On eBay, five Rio torches are currently up for auction or "buy it now," with one at $1,000 that ends July 20. It has a "buy it now" of $2,947, although the seller has a feedback rating of only 2, which may give some buyers pause. Other "buy it now" prices are $4,300 and $4,900, while two other eBay auctions are in the $2,000 range.

Written by Karen Rosen

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