For the first time in company history, we proudly present a gold winner’s medal from the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. In fact, this is the first winner’s medal of any kind (gold, silver or bronze) that we have offered from the 1960 Rome Games. And it just so happens to be in the sports of boxing which introduced to the world a confident young man from Louisville, KY, who would later his claim as “The Greatest” who ever lived.

The Italian capital was supposed to host the Games of the IV Olympiad in 1908, but after the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius – the same volcano that buried Pompeii in the year AD 79 – drained city funds to assist struggling Naples, the 1908 Olympics went to London instead. Thus, the 1960 Rome Olympics took place half a century later than planned. Even today they rank among the most celebrated in Olympic history. For Team USA, the most significant result was the gold medal performance of teenaged boxer Cassius Clay in the Light Heavyweight division. Former polio patient Wilma Rudolph claimed "Fastest Woman on Earth" with three golds in track and field. And the men’s basketball team led by Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, and Jerry Lucas took home gold as arguably the most talented amateur sports team of all time.

The unique presentation of Rome winners’ medals was unlike anything seen before or since, with an elegant chain and wreath bezel to give it a truly Italian artistic touch. The medal itself is made of gilt silver with gold plating. Designed by Giuseppe Cassioli, the front features a victorious athlete carried by a jubilant crowd. The reverse depicts a seated Nike [Goddess of Victory] with the Colosseum in the background and "Giochi Della XVII Olimpiade Roma MCMLX” in raised lettering. The medal exhibits moderate surface wear, but the gold plating remains almost completely intact. It is housed within a cast bronze olive leaf wreath bezel, which is engraved “PUGILATO [Boxing]” on the bottom.

The medal and wreath are suspended from a long ornate chain with each link depicting an olive tree leaf. The medal has a diameter of 69 mm and weighs 102 grams (approx. 200 g with chain). The wreath bezel is undamaged but heavily worn. All twenty original leaf links are present, but some contain broken attachment loops. (The consignor has included three replacement links if the new owner wants to wear it around the neck.)

It is extremely rare for a 1960 Rome winner’s medal to come up for auction. Scarcer is an example with its original wreath and chain intact. Rarer still is one that includes its original presentation case, which came in red, white of green. This white leather case made by the Artistici Fiorentini of Firenze has a broken right front latch but is otherwise in fine condition. To our knowledge, the only other 1960 Rome Olympic gold winner’s medal – complete with its original wreath, chain and presentation case – to sell publicly went for $34,378 in 2022 (a Yugoslavian soccer player).

This medal was sourced from the estate of USA boxer Eddie Crook Jr. (died 2005) who took gold in the Middleweight division, one weight class down from the Light Heavyweight in which Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) won his gold medal.