Olympic medals offered in sale includes 1904 gold winner
- Published: Jan 29, 2025, 5 PM

A rare and exceptional artifact from the dawn of the modern Olympics took center stage at RR Auction’s Olympic sale that closed on Jan. 16.
Among nearly 400 lots of memorabilia spanning decades of Olympic history, a first-place gold medal from the 1904 Games in St. Louis sold for an impressive $545,371, according to results from the Boston-based RR Auction.
Awarded to a champion hurdler during the first Olympics hosted on American soil, the medal is one of the rarest of its kind. Featuring the inscriptions OLYMPIAD and 1904, the obverse showcases a victorious athlete holding a wreath, while the reverse highlights Nike, the goddess of victory, alongside Zeus, the king of gods. The engraved event name, 110 METER HURDLE, adds to its historical significance. Remarkably, the medal retains its original ribbon and is housed in a timeworn leather case.
“This medal is a cornerstone for any serious collector of Olympic history,” said Bobby Eaton, Olympic specialist at RR Auction. “Collectors often strive to assemble complete sets of Olympic medals from every Games, and you simply can’t complete a set without a 1904 gold medal. Within our vast network of collectors, there are no others in private hands from a sanctioned 1904 event. That level of rarity — combined with its condition and provenance — explains why collectors were so determined to acquire it. It’s equivalent to a Button Gwinnett signature or a Honus Wagner card when completing a collection, and the final price of $545,371 reflects that.”
The 1904 Games marked a pivotal moment in Olympic tradition by introducing the now-familiar gold, silver, and bronze medal system. This historic medal not only commemorates the athletic achievements of its time but also symbolizes the enduring legacy of the Olympic Games.
A St. Louis 1904 Olympics silver association football championship winner’s medal was also offered in the sale. It sold for $67,149.
More-modern medals were also coveted by bidders in the sale that closed after about a month of open bidding. A Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics gold winner’s medal for ski jumping sold for $160,773 with buyer’s premium. In total, six gold medals were issued for ski jumping in the Nagano games, five of which were awarded to Japanese athletes.
Other Olympic Games represented included Stockholm (1956), Lillehammer (1994), London (2012) and Paris (2024).
The sale, which also included artifacts like Olympic torches and vases, totaled $1,582,060.
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