Last night Smith & Singer’s final auction of 2022 began on a prestigious note, offering the four Olympic gold and four British Empire and Commonwealth Games gold medals won by swimming legend Murray Rose AM, between 1956 and 1962.  The collection represented the most significant sale of Olympic gold medals to be offered publicly at auction in Australia and all four Olympic gold medals sold on the night alongside one of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games medals, realising 135% by value.  

Two of the Olympic medals sold were this Games of the XVI Olympiad gold medal, Melbourne 1956 (lot 2, estimate $60,000–80,000, pictured above), which sold for $147,273, and this Games of the XVII Olympiad gold medal, Rome 1960 (lot 4, estimate $60,000–80,000, pictured below) which sold for $98,182.