PRICELESS

Jesse Owens’s Medal for Sale

From the 1936 Olympics.

An Olympic gold medal won by African-American track star Jesse Owens in 1936 in Berlin is being auctioned online through SCP Auctions. Amidst the rise of the Nazi Party and its propaganda on race, Owens won gold in the 100 and 200 meters, the 400 relay and the long jump. The medal up for sale was given to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, a dancer and movie star, by Owens, and is being auctioned by the estate of his widow. SCP Auctions will run the auction. "We just hope that it's purchased by an institution where the public could have access to it, a museum or something like that," says Robinson’s daughter. The locations of the three remaining gold medals are unknown.