Participation medal issued for the Athens 1896 Olympics. Gilt bronze, 50 mm, 58 gm, by W. Pittner, Austria. The front features a seated Nike holding a laurel wreath over a phoenix emerging from flames, with the Acropolis in the background; the reverse bears a star surmounted above five lines of Greek legend set within a laurel wreath. The immolation of the phoenix and its emergence from the ashes symbolizes the rebirth of the Olympic Games after a hiatus of more than 1,500 years. Includes its original circular leather presentation case. An uncommon and desirable medal given the sheer historical significance of the Olympiad and how so few examples were ultimately struck.
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