Muhammad Ali Olympic Relic on Auction

(ATR) Rarities from the Olympics starting with Athens 1896 will be sold at auction this week by dealer Ulf Strom.

The latest auction from the Stockholm-based Strom includes 110 items, most dating from the first half of the 20th century.

From the 1896 Athens Olympics, a bronze participation medal is described as "unusually well preserved with sharp edges, beautiful brown color and lots of original luster". It is priced at $750.

For collectors of Muhammad Ali or Rome 1960, the official boxing program and a ticket to the final where Ali won his gold medal is available as a two piece lot. The items carry a $500 reserve.

From Paris 1900 comes a rare piece of ephemera, a cardboard badge for the shooting committee issued to one Captain Sadi-Carnot, Shooting Committee member. The octagonal badge is valued at $3,500.

Perhaps the items with the most intriguing provenanceonce belonged to George W. Hearn, the founder of aquatics federation FINA.

A silvered enamel referee badge is priced at $3,500 while a whistle engraved with the initials of the English coach is listed at $750. The two items date from the 1908 London Olympics.

A competitor ́s badgefrom the first Winter Olympics, Chamonix 1924 is $5,500.

An IOC session badge from Amsterdam 1928, described as "extremely rare" has the highest reserve of any item in the catalog, $9,000.

Awarded the 1940 Olympics, but later cancelled, Tokyo items are hard to find. The Strom auction includes a silvered enamel badge valued at $3,000.

A badge from the 1948 London IOC Session is listed at $4,500.

Bids for the auction are due April 13.

For details and terms of the auction, click on this link to see a .pdf catalog.

Contact the dealer via ulf.strom@mbox302.swipnet.se

Reported by Ed Hula.