"Miracle On Ice" Gold Medal Brings In Over $310,000
Last month we wrote about the planned auction of the first "Miracle on Ice" 1980 Olympic hockey gold medal ever offered in a public auction. It was estimated to sell for $100,000 as part of a sports memorabilia auction to be conducted by Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas and online on November 5, 2010. and it greatly exceeded that goal, selling for $310,700. Spirited bidding by 16 collectors who vied online and by telephone for the prize boosted the price. Part of the lure had to be that it was the first one to hit the market and also the sentiment attached, a connection to a time when the U.S. was transfixed by the accomplishments of an underdog team taking on the world and, against the odds, achieving the dream."The winning bidder is a Western United States rancher who enjoys many categories of collectibles, but this was his first purchase from our sports department. He is very excited to own this iconic piece of American sporting history," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions.
The gold medal was awarded to Mark Wells, then 21 years old and a center for the U.S. team," said Chris Ivy, Director of Heritage Sports Collectibles. It was created by Tiffany & Co. The obverse shows a raised torch framed between the words "XIII Olympic Winter Games" and the Olympic rings. The reverse shown above has a tree with the raised text "Lake Placid 1980" and the engraved lettering "Ice Hockey, Mark Wells." The medal hangs from its original powder blue and white ribbon. Wells privately sold the medal earlier this year to an anonymous collector who consigned it to the Heritage auction.
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