An Extremely Rare 1896 Athens Olympic Medal Is Coming to Auction at Wannenes

On 9 April, the Wannenes auction house will present the Coins and Medals sale, an event of great interest for collectors and numismatic scholars.

Among the most eagerly anticipated lots stands out an object of extraordinary importance: an extremely rare original medal awarded to the winners of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, estimated at 40,000–60,000 euros.

The medal, struck in silver (66.63 g, 50 mm), was created by the renowned French medallist Jules-Clément Chaplain and produced by the prestigious Monnaie de Paris. The obverse features the laureate head of Zeus holding a globe upon which stands the winged Victory with an olive branch, accompanied by the Greek inscription “ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ” (Olympia). The reverse depicts a striking view of the Acropolis with the Parthenon, surrounded by the inscription commemorating the 1896 International Olympic Games in Athens. On the edge appear the word “argent” and the traditional cornucopia, the hallmark of the Paris Mint. The piece is housed in its original box, a detail that further enhances its collectible value. It is also a recent discovery of extreme rarity.

This medal represents the most coveted prize of the first Olympiad of the modern era, the 1896 Athens Olympic Games, a landmark event of the Olympic revival championed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin. Unlike later editions, the award protocol established for that occasion stipulated that the winner would receive a silver medal, accompanied by an olive branch gathered from the sacred grove of Olympia and an official diploma. The runner-up received a bronze or copper medal and a laurel branch, while no medal was awarded to the third-place finisher. The revival of the Olympic Games in the modern era was not merely a sporting milestone of historical proportions; it also marked the beginning of a new numismatic and symbolic tradition, and at the heart of this iconography stands the silver medal itself.

The choice of silver as the supreme prize reflected the cultural sensibility of the time: gold was considered a metal too opulent for the spirit of Olympic amateurism, while silver embodied a more sober dignity consistent with the classical ideal upon which the Games were modeled.

The 1896 Olympics brought together approximately 240 athletes from 14 nations, competing in 43 events across nine disciplines. Although the International Olympic Committee subsequently standardized the statistics by retroactively awarding gold, silver, and bronze to the top three finishers, in reality, at the time, only the winners received a silver medal, greatly limiting the number of pieces actually distributed.

The design of the award was entrusted to Chaplain, one of the most important medallists of his day, a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and appointed official medallist of the French government in 1877. His signature, “J. C. Chaplain”, visible on the obverse, attests to the artistic value of the work, in which the neoclassical language blends with the early suggestions of Art Nouveau. The striking took place at the Monnaie de Paris, at the time at the forefront of high-quality medal production, thanks to the use of advanced reduction machines that guaranteed an extremely faithful reproduction of the original model, ensuring that every piece awarded to the winners possessed identical detail and finish.

According to historical records, the official 1896 mintage is estimated at approximately 100 pieces. This production was intended to cover prizes for event winners, any ties, and a number of medals probably reserved for dignitaries or institutional archives. Nevertheless, very few examples have survived to the present day, preserved mostly in museums or important private collections.

More than a mere numismatic object, the silver medal of the 1896 Athens Games is a material testament to the rebirth of the Olympic spirit — an ideal bridge between classical antiquity and the international dimension of modern sport, an object that embodies the philosophy of Pierre de Coubertin and the artistic mastery of Jules-Clément Chaplain. Its appearance on the market, therefore, constitutes an event of great significance for international collectors and is one of the most anticipated highlights of Wannenes’ April sale.

Alongside the Olympic top lot, the sale also presents a second piece of absolute rarity: a Carlino da 5 Doppie d’oro of 1786, struck at the Turin Mint for Victor Amadeus III, King of Sardinia. The gold coin (45.50 g, 40 mm) bears on the obverse the bare head of the sovereign facing left, flanked by the legend VIC. AM. D. G. REX. SARDINIAE and the date of minting. On the reverse, a displayed and crowned eagle bears the Savoyard shield on its breast, resting on crossed scepter and baton adorned with the Collar of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation; the legend DUX. SABAVD. PRINC. PEDEM, punctuated by four rosettes, completes the composition. A distinctive feature of this piece is the absence of any indication of value, a detail that further enhances its historical and numismatic appeal.

The estimate for this masterpiece of the Savoyard Mint is 15,000–25,000 euros.