Winner’s medal issued for the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics. Silver, 60 mm, 125 gm, by Ilya Postol, Moscow. The front, inscribed in Cyrillic, features a ‘Seated Victory’ with the Colosseum in the background, the reverse features the Moscow Olympic emblem and Olympic flame, and the bottom edge is engraved “ГРЕБАЯ АКАДЕМИУЕСКАЯ,” which translates to a rowing event. Complete with its original ribbon and hinged case. Rowing at the 1980 Summer Olympics, represented by 14 events, took place in the Man-made Basin, located at the Trade Unions Olympic Sports Centre, from July 20-27, 1980.
The United States led sixty-five countries in a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Only 452 silver medals were produced for the Games, 204 of which were actually awarded to athletes. Between the important historical events surrounding the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the scarcity of these medals, they hold a special international appeal and are sought by collectors worldwide.
