Participation medal issued for the Athens 1896 Summer Olympics. Gilt Bronze, 50 mm, 58 gm, by W. Pittner, Austria. The front features a seated Nike holding a laurel wreath over a phoenix emerging from flames, with Acropolis in the background; the reverse bears a star surmounted above five lines of Greek legend set within a laurel wreath. The immolation of the phoenix and emergence from the ashes symbolizes the rebirth of the Olympic Games after a hiatus of more than 1,500 years. An uncommon and desirable medal given the sheer historical significance of the Olympiad and how so few examples were ultimately struck.
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