A medal from the first modern Olympic Games held in at the 1896 Athens is expected to sell for around $30,000 at an upcoming auction in September.
Ben Jones, from Mullock’s Auctioneers, in Ludlow, Shrops., UK, who is conducting the auction said: “It is great to see something such as this in the light of day.
“We are very honored to have been given the opportunity to auction off such a piece.
The 126-year-old relic has been sitting in a drawer in Shropshire, UK, located in the West Midlands. The piece has been passed down for generations within the same family.
It was only recently that the owner, who was doing some ‘Spring cleaning’ thought the item should be appraised.
“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.”
To the family’s surprise the bronze colored medallion turned out to be an Olympic medal from the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, held in Athens, Greece.
The medal, which measures 2 inches wide, was made by French sculptor J.C.Chaplain. It features an image of Zeus, the ancient Greek god of gods with the insignia ‘Olympia’.
The medal is edged in bronze with the the Greek words “First International Olympic Games, Athens 1896″ written on the reverse side.
Medals at the Athens games were given to athletes who finished first and second in competition.
Winners were given a silver medal and an olive branch while a copper medals and a laurel branch were awarded to the runners up.
A total of 43 second-place medals were given to athletes who competed across the initial nine sports of: athletics, cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting, and tennis.
Mystery surrounds who won this particular medal. The family had no further information and records show only three British athletes as having received such medals.
The 1896 Athens games featured 241 athletes from 14 European countries as well as the US. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals.
The United States won the most gold medals, 11, while host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 47.
The International Olympic Committee has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best placed athletes in each event.
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