Diameter:  51 mm

Weight:    69  gr

Observe:
Voktory with wreath seated above stadium.

Reverse:
Winner carried by jubilant athletes.
 

                  Copies of Medals:

                        Gold:      280
                        Silver:     280
                        Bronze:   290 

The design for the prize medals which was adopted by the International Olympic Committee for the Amsterdam Games in 1928 and struck for each subsequent Games, was again agreed upon. The original design was modelled by Professor Cassiole of Florence, Italy. The only alteration was to change the appropriate wording to " XVIth Olympiad Melbourne 1956".

Winners of individual events and members of winning teams were awarded silver-gilt medals ; second and third in each category were awarded silver and bronze medals respectively.
The rule as to the award of prize medals reads, inter alia-
" . . . In team events only members of the first, second and third teams who have participated in the final or 3rd-4th match respectively shall be awarded the silver-gilt medals, silver medals and bronze medals and diplomas. Those who have represented the first, second and third teams but have not participated in the final or 3rd-4th match are entitled to receive a diploma. No competitor shall receive more than one medal for the same performance in a combined individual and team competition."

It was the intention of the I.O.C. that this rule should apply to Melbourne, but as it had not been enforced for the equestrian events at Stockholm, which formed an integral part of the Games of the XVI Olympiad, it was therefore decided that the old rule whereby athletes were entitled to more than one medal for the same performance should also apply at Melbourne.

This rule, however, merits careful study with a view to clearer expression for future organizers since it contains ambiguities ; in boxing, for instance, the losing semi-finalists in each weight category do not fight off for third place and are judged to be equal third. There are, moreover, different views as to what constitutes a reserve. Only by defining in the rule those sports which are entitled to claim additional medals, will the anomalies be rectified. It should also be defined which are the team events. Are eights, fours and pairs, for example, in rowing to be classified as team events ? Similarly, why are pairs in canoeing classified as team events and the tandem event in cycling as an individual event ?

In gymnastics team events, more competitors than the scoring number of five are allowed to compete in a team. Should those which follow the scoring five in a team be awarded medals or should they be treated as reserves ?

The I.O.C. new Rule 41 which lays down that medals must bear the name of the sport concerned, was brought into operation in June, 1956. As the prize medals had already been manufactured by this time, the President of the I.O.C. agreed that this section of the rule should be waived for the Melbourne Games.

Prize medals were ordered and distributed as follows : silver-gilt ordered, 280, distributed, 273 ; silver ordered, 280, distributed, 273 ; bronze ordered, 290, distributed, 281. Additional bronze medals were required because the I.O.C. ruled that both of the losing semi-finalists in each weight category of boxing should receive bronze medals rather than fight a deciding bout.

Prize medals were presented in velvet-lined cases. The cases were cream with a label in blue for first, in red for second and in green for third.

(Source document:  Official Report 1956 Melbourne,  page 99)

Diameter:   49 mm

Weight:    108  gr

Reverse: Torch above the five rings with the inscription in French "Olympic Games" an the I.O.C. motto "Citius, Altius, Fortius".

The Equestrian Olympic Medal was completed in April 1956. The one side of the Medal shows a relief composed by John Sjosvard. The other side of the Medal has been designed by the Interntional Olympic Committee and will henceforth have  the same shape for all Olympic events. At the bottom of the  Medal are read the words "Citius  Altius Fortius", the Olympic motto, which means "Faster Higher Stronger". 

Diameter:  54 mm;
in laurel wreath, 68 mm

Weight:    102  gr

 Observe:
 Victory seated over stadium.

 Reverse:
 Winner carried by jubilant athletes.

                         Gold         273
                         Silver        270
                         Bronze      277

The medal of honour awarded to winners, in accordance with the decisions of the I.O.C., remained that adopted many years previously at the Amsterdam Olympic Games (1928) despite the fact that its subject was not considered with any favour by Italian art critics. However, the original medal produced by Prof. Cassioli of Florence was adopted in the successive Olympic Games of Los Angeles (1932), Berlin (1936), London (1948), Helsinki (1952) and Melbourne (1956), preserving the same design and thus creating a tradition which prompted the I.O.C., on the occasion of the work of the 54th Session held at Tokyo, to decide that this same theme for the medals for winners should be continued for the 1960 Games.

On the face of the medal there therefore appeared the same allegory conceived by Prof. Cassioli, while the back bore the words " Games of the XVII Olympiad - Rome 1960 ". The medal was encircled by a bronze band composed of laurel leaves.

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. The Arts Committee, having obtained the approval of the Organising Committee, also entrusted Prof. Emilio Greco with the creation of a giant statue symbolising " The Olympic Torch ". This work by the sculptor Greco, inspired by modern figurative art, was placed close to the Palazzo dello Sport, at the highest point overlooking the waterfall and the small lake. The original model, presented by the sculptor to the Exhibition of Sport in History and Art, was set up in the centre of the main staircase in the Palazzo delle Scienze at E.U.R.

In addition, under the auspices of the Italian Numismatic Society, a special gold medal for numismatic purposes only was coined and officially circulated, with the full agreement of the Organizing Committee of the Games. The medal, the work of the sculptor Renato Signorini, was coined in six different sizes. The rim of the largest sized medal bore the following inscription:- MMDCCXXXVI AB IN. OLYMPIIS MMDCCXIII AB U.C. MCMLX A CH.N.

The Arts Committee, in agreement with the Superintendency of Monuments in Lazio and with the Rome Municipality, decided on holding sports venues in the Caracalla Baths for gymnastics and in the Basilica of Maxentius for wrestling.

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