Beautiful winner's medal issued for a shooting event at the Rome 1960 Summer Olympics. Bronze, 68 mm, 102 gm, by Giuseppe Cassioli. The front depicts a victorious athlete being carried by a jubilant crowd; the reverse, inscribed, "Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade Roma MCMLX," features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background. The medal is set in its original cast bronze olive leaf chain, inscribed at the bottom with the name of the sport in Italian, "Tiro."
Six of these bronze medals were awarded for shooting in six different events. A total of 313 shooters from 59 countries competed at the Rome Games; the nations that took third-place prizes included the Soviet Union, Japan, Venezuela, and the United Team of Germany. The winner's medals issued for the 1960 Rome Olympics were the first designed to be worn around the neck and the first for any Summer Games to feature the name of the specific sport. An extraordinary, iconic piece.
