This 1908 Summer Games silver winners medal was presented to Henry Leaf. Medal is approximately 33mm in diameter, weighs approximately 19 grams, and was designed by Bertram Mackennal. One side of the detailed raised relief medal features two young women crowning an athlete with a laurel wreath with “Olympic Games London 1908,” in raised letters, with the reverse showing St. George, the patron saint of England, slaying a dragon as a goddess looks on. Medal comes in its stunning original black leather presentation case, embossed on the top in gold, “Olympic Games, Second Prize, Racquets Singles, London 1908,” and was presented to Henry Leaf. Condition is uncirculated.
Racquets, a precursor to squash, made its only Olympic appearance at the 1908 games in London. Henry Leaf, the odds on favorite, may well have won the gold instead, but he injured his left hand in the semi-final match against John Jacob Astor, and had to sit out the finals, with the gold medal going to Evan Baillie Noel by default. Leaf would also win a bronze medal in 1908 in doubles. A particularly stunning and beautifully engraved example, complete with its splendid original leather and gilt presentation case.
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