A winner’s medal from the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896 brought three times its estimate in a March 1 online sale by Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen Arts Auctioneers.

With the buyer’s premium added, the medal realized 1,152,000 Danish krone, equivalent to $180,690 in U.S. dollars.

“We are absolutely thrilled about today’s result,” says Christian Grundtvig, head of the coins and stamps department at Bruun Rasmussen. “The Olympic medal represents a ‘unicorn’ among international collectors — a rare fusion of Olympic and cultural history.

“This is a piece of memorabilia of such extraordinary caliber that news of the sale has reached audiences worldwide. It is, without doubt, one of the most remarkable sales within the field of numismatics in the history of our auction house.”

The first modern Olympic Games took place in Athens in April 1896, featuring 241 athletes from 14 nations. Denmark was among the participating countries, and Viggo Jensen became Denmark’s first Olympic champion in weightlifting. However, Bruun Rasmussen cannot confirm whether the medal sold March 1 was specifically awarded for his performance.

The medal was engraved by French artist Jules-Clément Chaplain.

The obverse features a laureate head of the Greek god Zeus holding a globe, upon which the Goddess of Victory, Nike, stands with an olive branch. The reverse depicts the Acropolis rock with the Parthenon and a Greek inscription that translates to “International Olympic Games — Athens 1896.”

In the 1896 Games, silver medals were awarded to first-place finishers and bronze medals to runners-up. The now-familiar gold medal was introduced only at later Olympic Games.

The winner’s medal is 50 millimeters in diameter with a silver content slightly higher than traditional .925 fine sterling.