Obverse:
Olympic motto within circle of athletes marching in pairs.

Reverse:
Olympic rings over Melbourne coat of arms within legend.

Copies of medals:     12,250
Participants:  3,342
 
 

Mr. Andor Meszaros of Melbourne, by birth a Hungarian but now a naturalized Australian, submitted the design which was accepted for both obverse and reverse of the commemorative medal. The obverse depicts in relief a design of athletes marching in pairs following a single figure bearing a banner with the Olympic device of rings and the motto of the International Olympic Committee Citius, Altius, Fortius. The reverse is a reproduction in relief of the Coat-of-Arms of the City of Melbourne surmounted by the five rings and bearing the inscription " Olympic Games Melbourne 1956 ".

The medal is in bronze, 5/32 inch in thickness with a diameter of 2½ inches. As most of the recipients of badges were entitled also to commemorative medals, the numbers were related. Badges and commemorative medals, moreover, were distributed jointly and on the same basis ; 12,250 were struck in bronze and were issued in plastic cases. A summary of details relating to the number ordered and issued is at the end of this report.
 

(Source document:  Official Report 1956, page 104)

Design by:   E. Greco

Weight:  78 gr.

Obverse:
Nude female torchbearer suberimposed over Olympic rings.

Reverse:
Flight of eagles soaring over stadium of Rome

Copies of medals:   16,276

Participants:  5,396
 

The commemorative medal of the Games was the work of Prof. Emilio Greco, who designed it according to his own personal ideas, avoiding any form of complicated symbolism and turning directly to the expressive clarity of a purely figurative style. On the face of the medal, the sculptor modelled a female nude running and bearing the Olympic torch with the Olympic rings in the background. On the back of the medal the artist depicted a flight of eagles rising from the Olympic Stadium of Rome and disappearing in the sky. This original conception at the same time symbolises the victories in the Olympic Games and their echo throughout the world.
 

( Source document:   Official Report 1960, Vol. I., page 306)