Following World War I, Germany’s economy was in shambles and her national pride humiliated. But 18 years later she would have an opportunity to show the world a “new Germany” and to showcase Hitler’s Nazi Party as a supreme political entity. Visitors to the Games of the XI Olympiad often purchased souvenirs of the games, among which was the Official Visitor’s Medal of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Little did these visitors know that this medal would later become a rarity.
The Official Visitor’s Medal, made of bronze, measures 36.8mm in diameter, weights 22.5 grams and was minted in Bayer. The medal’s obverse displays an image of the Olympic bell that was commissioned by the German organizing committee as the symbol for the games. Engraved on the bell’s face is the German eagle position above the traditional Olympic rings. Along the bell’s rim and sandwiched between two swastikas is the inscription, “I call the youth of the world.” Directly beneath the bell’s striker another swastika is prominently displayed. The phrase, “Olympic Games Berlin 1936” is written along the medal’s legend, thus tying the piece to the XI Olympiad.
The medal’s reverse depicts the image of the Hellenic Goddess Nike, who like Apollo, was associated with the Olympic Games. Nike, looking over her right shoulder, holds a laurel wreath in her left hand and extends a laurel branch with her right hand. In ancient Greece, winning athletes wore a crown of laurel and were presented with a laurel branch as a trophy. In Roman times the laurel wreath was used to crown military commanders who were victorious in battle. Written in the medal’s legend and surrounding the goddess Nike is the quote, “To the Glory of the Fatherland – To the Glory of the Sport.”
The Official Visitor’s Medal of the XI Olympiad is a very sought after piece by coin collectors, token collectors, collectors of World War II militaria, and sport memorabilia collectors. While the exact number of medals minted or the population of existing medals today are not known, the rarity of this medal in extremely fine condition to mint condition is considered to be from “hard-to-find” to “scare”. The Visitor’s Medal is most often found tarnished with medium to heavy patina, and sometimes spotted. Heavily spotted medals or medals with obtrusive spotting should be avoided by the discriminative collector. Additionally, shinny medals should be looked at with skepticism. A professional and properly cleaned Visitor’s Medal is not usually considered of less value, but due to its rarity, a shinny medal could signal a counterfeit.
