The 1936 Games is best remembered for the Summer version in which American sprinter Jesse Owens won four gold medals and by doing so ridiculed the attempt of Nazi Germany to use the Games as propaganda to display their racial superiority.

But as well as marking the last occasion on which both the Summer and Winter Olympics was held in the same country in the same year, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 was symbolic as the lowest number of gold medals for any Games were awarded - 36.

Depicting the Greek goddess Nike holding a laurel leaf while riding in her quadriga above four symbols representing a bobsled, a ski, a hockey stick and an ice skate, the medal is also one of the largest and heaviest ever recorded. 

Only 36 gold medals were ever awarded at Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936
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The original recipient of the medal remains unknown, with Graham Budd, who presided over the auction held on May 22 to 23 at Sotheby's New Bond Street, London showrooms, admitting that this did decrease the value of the medal to some extent.

"It is quite common for the recipients of these medals to be unknown, particularly for the older ones because there is no inscription to distinguish between sports, and thus narrow it down," he told insidethegames.

"But it was very impressive, very big and chunky and still in its case."

Budd added that since 2012, Olympic memorabilia has become his company's largest growing market  "by a long way", with interest surpassed only by football collections.

Among many other items to be sold was the first Olympic gold medal awarded to a woman for speed skating, won at Squaw Valley 1960 by a member of the Unified Germany team, Helga Haase.

Considered extremely rare and the first 1960 Winter Olympic Games gold medal ever to have been offered at public auction, this sold for £50,000 ($84,000/€62,000).

A leotard won by diminutive Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci was also sold
©Hulton Archive/Getty Images



But many other items in addition to medals were also sold, including a leotard worn by Nadia Comăneci, the Romanian gymnast who won three gold medals at Montreal 1976 before earning a further two at Moscow 1980.

This was bought for £7,000 ($11,77/€8,700).

Another fascinating item included was an official, 580-page report for the London 1948 Games, which sold for £150 ($252/€186).

The most ever paid at an auction for Olympic memorabilia was £830,000 ($1.4 million/€1 million) last December for one of the four gold medals won by Jesse Owens at Berlin 1936.