1973-P Silver Medal D1973-3b, 76mm Jim Thorpe Memorial

Coin Details

Auction Record

$3,600 MS66 08-23-2024 Stack's Bowers

Description

Swoger catalog number D1973-3b. This 76mm silver medal was struck at the United States Mint in Philadelphia as a memorial to Jim Thorpe, widely regarded as the greatest all-around athlete of the 20th century. Born on May 28, 1887, near Prague, Oklahoma, Thorpe was of Sac and Fox and Potawatomi descent. He won gold medals in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, prompting Sweden's King Gustav V to declare him "the greatest athlete in the world." He played professional football, baseball, and basketball, co-founded what became the National Football League, and played major league baseball for the New York Giants, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Braves. Thorpe's Olympic medals were stripped in 1913 after it was revealed he had played semi-professional baseball, but they were posthumously restored in 1983. The Swoger catalog (D-series), compiled by Tom Swoger, documents modern U.S. Mint commemorative medals from 1956 onward.

Rarity Notes

Large-format 76mm silver Jim Thorpe memorial medal. Silver composition and large size make this the premium issue. Exact mintage not separately reported.

Cross References

PCGS #76132; Swoger D1973-3b