Winner’s medal from the Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics. Bronze, 51 mm, 60 gm, by Giuseppe Cassioli. The front, inscribed, “XV Olympia, Helsinki, 1952,” features a ‘Seated Victory’ with the Coliseum in the background; the reverse portrays a winner carried by jubilant athletes. An uncommon and sought-after example from the Olympics that marked the emergence of the Cold War on the world sporting stage, highlighted by the Soviet Union’s Olympic debut and the return of Germany and Japan to international competition after World War II.
