Antiques Roadshow: Valuation of Olympic medal
An Antiques Roadshow guest recalled how her Olympic swimming grandmother initially got into the sport, having been labelled a “dunce”.
Expert Adam Schoon met with a guest called Julia for filming of the BBC daytime series who had a collection of swimming medals, including an Olympic gold from Paris 1924.
“Swimming medals, swimming badges and a photograph, who is it?” Schoon began.
“That’s my grandmother Lucy Morton, swimming, she started swimming when she was about aged 10," Julia explained.
“What happened was her dad said ‘you’re too much of a dunce at school, you don’t seem to be doing very well’ and he decided ‘let’s try swimming.’"
When Schoon questioned if she had inherited the “swimming DNA”, Julia joked that she could “swim a length”, so enough “to save my life”.
“Back to her remarkable rise, because it’s covered in gold medals," Schoon continued.
“I noticed that there’s a number of medallions around here which she would have won for, I presume, county races, national races. She’s setting world records.
“All of these are 15-carat gold but of course, all these smaller medals build up to really this one here.”
The expert then pointed out the Olympic medal with the guest giving some backstory to how her grandmother went on to be crowned a champion.
“In 1923, they actually became very interested in her and they asked her to start swimming in preparation for the 1924 Paris Olympics.
“She trained and she went to Paris in 1924. She wasn’t expected to win or anything.
“Unfortunately, some of the Americans had got some sort of bug from what I heard.
“She made the final race in breaststroke 200m and everyone was apparently cheering, she got to the end and she had a chaperone and the chaperone said ‘You’ve won!’
“Pulled her out of the pool, put her bathrobe on. She was actually the first female swimmer to win a gold medal in swimming for Great Britain.
“I’m really proud of her. At that age, that time, females weren’t doing anything like that and to have actually swam at the age of 27, I think it was quite old back then.”
Schoon remarked: “Well you’re right to be proud, she was an incredible woman.
“Back to the medal, it’s got her name on the rim, it is the gold but it’s made of silver, silver gilt.
“It was designed in Paris by a man called Andre Rivaud, it was made in the Paris mint and there were only 304 made as far as I know.”
Julia shared that Morton went on to coach for the Olympic team and chaperoned other swimmers around the country, adding: “She just loved it. It was her life.”
It was then time for the expert to reveal his appraisal, stating: “So when it comes to the valuation, Olympic medal, £15,000?”
Clearly stunned by the news, the guest gave a wide smile as she asked: “What? The one medal?”
BBC viewers could hear Julia panting as Schoon elaborated: “Just for that. And the fact you’ve got all these gold medals and more here, another £15,000.
“But altogether, it just adds up to the most extraordinary record of the most incredible woman.”
Antiques Roadshow is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
