DESCRIPTION

A silhouette of the Oslo Olympic emblem (city hall) over-stamped with the Olympic rings while the Norwegian legend DE VI. OLYMPISKE VINTERLEKER OSLO 1952 is inscribed along the periphery. The reverse depicts a snowflake with a surrounding Olympic motto CITIUS * ALTIUS *FORTIUS. The initials THM / C.S. (Minter) rest on the lower right corner of city hall (obverse). The medals were presented in a square red box with the Olympic rings printed on the cover. The inside cover has the Minters name TH. MARTHINSEN / NORWAY.

THE GAMES

In 1952, the Olympics were finally held in Norway, the birthplace of modern skiing. The Olympic flame was lit in the hearth of the home of Sondre Nordheim, the first famous skier, and relayed by 94 skiers to Oslo. Speed skater Hjallis Andersen starred for the home team, winning three gold medals. His winning margins in the 5,000m and the 10,000m were the largest in Olympic history. In Alpine skiing, the combined event was dropped and replaced by the giant slalom. Andrea Mead Lawrence won both the giant slalom and the slalom even though she was only nineteen years old. Canada won the ice hockey tournament for the fifth time, bringing their cumulative Olympic record to 37 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties. In those 41 games they scored 403 goals while conceding only 34. For the first time, a cross-country skiing event was held for women. The winner was Lydia Wideman of Finland.