Rare Olympic Curling Medal Hits the Auction Block

It is believed to be the first-ever auction of an official Olympic medal for the sport of curling.

As it turns out, my old teammate Paul Savage, a living curling legend, has given his Nagano 1998 silver medal to an auction house in Los Angeles.

The auction is underway.

Savage, a Brier and world champion, was the alternate/coach on our Mike Harris team for two years, which included select stops on the World Curling Tour – where Savage skipped – plus our win at the Olympic Trials and silver-medal finish in Karuizawa.

I also competed with him before our Harris team had reunited for the Olympic charge.

Savage has been fielding some calls, and was a bit taken aback by a media release announcing the auction. 

I had to call him, obviously.

“Well, we initiated this back in December, long before the Olympics,” said Paul. “So maybe (the auction house) is trying to connect this little activity of mine with the fiasco with the curling team right now in Italy. That stuff is all crazy. 

“I was having beers with the grandkids in the pub in our new retirement home. And my grandson Spencer says, ‘Grandpa, do you know how much your medal's worth?’ and I said, ‘Well no, I never thought about it.’

“It’s not about the money,” added Savage. “And initially we had no idea what it was worth.”

Savage feels the auction might “avoid a shit show” with his five grandchildren.

“Who would I give it to?” Savage asked rhetorically. “How do you split a medal?” 

My old skipper is obviously thinking about the future. Savage is 79 now, and recently sold his water access cottage as limited mobility made it difficult to properly enjoy. 

He has relocated from his beloved Muskoka region to live closer to his family.

To avoid charges of writer’s bias – I have one of these beauties too – here’s what official sources say about the incredibly unique medals from the XVIII Games.

To convey local characteristics, designer Takeshi Ito crafted the medals with a traditional medals were created with an embossed gilding (or Maki-e) lacquer technique in Kiso lacquer, with so-called shippoyaki (i.e. cloisonné techniques) and precision metalwork.

The obverse represents the rising sun in Maki-e, surrounded by olive branches and accompanied by the emblem in cloisonné. The reverse is mainly in lacquer. It represents the emblem of the Games in Maki-e, with the sun rising over the Shinshu mountains. 

As the lacquered miniatures were painted individually by approximately 20 local artisans from the Kiso region, each medal is a one-of-a-kind artwork with slight variations, reflecting the unique nature of each athlete’s victory.

Savage made it clear he values the Olympic memories over the hardware.

“That that was a wonderful experience and I’ll treasure the memories, but the medal will be better off in my estate.”

Only 68 silver medals were awarded for the Nagano Games, and only 10 display the sport-specific curling pictogram.