Very rare winner's medal issued for a team fencing event at the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympics. Silver, 60 mm, 124 gm, originally designed by Giuseppe Cassioli. The front is inscribed, "XIX Olimpiada Mexico 1968," and features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse depicts a victorious athlete with palm branch being carried by several jubilant athletes. Top of medal features small ribbon plaque with front bearing a pictogram of two fencing swords and the reverse engraved: “Por Equipos Espada [For Sword Teams].”
The Games of the XIX Olympiad featured eight fencing events—six for men and two for men—which resulted in the awarding of 24 silver medals among its various competitors. The Soviet Union and Hungary tied for the most medals with seven each, but the former led the way with three gold medals and four silver medals, with Hungary attaining the most bronze medals with three. Although it remains uncertain from which particular team event this medal derives, countries that were awarded silver team medals include: the Soviet Union (2), Hungary, and Italy. An extremely attractive medal that represents one of the oldest Olympic sports and the first Olympiad to be staged in Latin America—our first winner’s medal from the 1968 Summer Games. From The Mason Dinehart Collection.
