Scarce and sought-after winner's medal issued for basketball at the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics. Silver, 61 mm, 125 gm, by Ilya Postol; manufactured by the Moscow Mint. 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 edge engraved in Cyrillic and identifying the event as “Basketball.” Complete with its original multi-colored ribbon. The medal is also accompanied by its original red presentation case and silver medal winner's pin, marked “2148” on the back, with accompanying black vinyl presentation pouch made by Bertoni of Milan.
In the gold medal round of the men’s basketball tournament, Italy (4-4) earned a second place finish when they lost to undefeated Yugoslavia (8-0) by a score of 86-77. In the women’s finals, a dominant Soviet Union team finished 6-0 after a 104-73 victory over silver medal-winning Bulgaria (4-2). The United States led sixty-five countries in a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan; as a result, the XXII Olympiad marked the second time that the United States men's team did not win the gold medal in Olympic basketball. A total of 452 silver medals were produced for the Games, 204 of which were actually awarded to athletes, thus making this medal quite uncommon. 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. From The Mason Dinehart Collection.
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