Historical Hockey Memorabilia Spring 2012
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/12/2012
Olympic gold, it's what every athlete dreams of winning. Tamara Press first lived that dream in Rome in 1960 when she claimed her first of three Olympic gold medals. Offered here from the personal collection of Tamara Press are the legendary Soviet athlete's 1960 Olympic gold medal and diploma as the women's shot put champion.
Press bested her own world record with a heave of 17.78 meters in Moscow a few weeks before competing in Rome. She set an Olympic record by putting the shot 17.32 meters in her second attempt in the September 2 final at Stadio Olimpico. That easily stood up as the best effort of the competition, the only one to surpass 17 meters, putting her well clear of silver medalist Johanna Luttge of Germany (16.61 m) and the United States' Earlene Brown (16.42 m), who won the bronze. Four years later Press repeated as Olympic champion in the shot put in Tokyo, where she also claimed the gold medal in the discus.
This stunning 52-year-old medal is one of the more distinctive designs in Olympic medal history. Minted by Artistici Fiorentini of Florence, the medal displays the traditional "Trionfo" design by Italian Giuseppe Cassioli on the obverse with the Olympiad and host city in Italian and the year 1960 in Roman numerals. The reverse was also the standard image of an Olympic champion being carried in triumph. What distinguished the Rome Olympic medals was the medal's bronze setting, a ring of laurel leaves with the sport's name at the bottom of the reverse, in this case "Athletica" for track and field. The gold medal itself measures 2" in diameter, and 2 5/8" when including the setting. Some of the gold plating has worn away on the most raised parts of the surface, notably the right leg on the obverse. The medal's setting is attached to a chain of linked laurel leaves. The first link on the bottom right was slightly damage and the chain is missing the original clasp at the top. The medal comes with an original 1960 Olympic medal presentation box though Press cannot recall if this one is from her gold or silver medal from Rome. Press' name is printed on her 1960 Olympic shot put gold medal diploma with the facsimile signature of IOC president Avery Brundage. Measuring 18 3/8" x 24 3/8", the diploma displays handling with wide bands of scotch tape on the reverse along two of the three creases from vertical folds. This lot, which comes with a signed letter of authenticity from Tamara Press, may be subject to a silent reserve.
Tamara Press will donate a substantial portion of her proceeds from this auction to her Moscow-based “Physical Education and Health” charitable foundation, which facilitates material and emotional support for sporting veterans and also provides help to orphanages and similar children’s institutions. [red]Addendum; Please take note that further research and photographic evidence has shown that the 1960 Olympic gold medals presentation boxes where white. The original white box from Tamara Press will be included with the medal instead of the red box as originally described. The box has two of its small clasps which are missing to close the case, is lightly warped and has small pieces of the white leather missing on a few spots. [/red]
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