France Paris
II International Olympic Games

Paris was selected to host the Games of the II Olympiad at the 1897 IOC Congress as advised by the Baron de Coubertin. The Games were held as part of the World’s Fair in Paris.
Totally, 997 athletes (including 22 female ones) of 24 nations competed at these Games. Athletes of Belgium, Bohemia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), Haiti, Spain, Italy, Canada, Cuba, the Netherlands, and Norway made their debut there. India became the first Asian nation that joined the Olympic family.
Totally 95 sets of medals had been played for in 18 sports (or 20 sports according to other sources). This misreading was caused by the sporting events already in progress as part of the World’s Fair by the day of the Olympics. Female athletes competed in golf and tennis only.
There was no official opening ceremony of the 1900 Olympic Games. The Paris Olympics of 1900 went down in the Olympics history as the worst one. It was the longest and most poorly-organized performance. Sometimes, the athletes competing with other athletes even didn’t know that they played at the Olympics.
It was the first and only Olympiad when the winners were awarded rectangular plaques instead of medals.
The winners in various sports were awarded silver plaques (medals) for the first place and bronze plaques for the second one. The third-place athletes were not awarded at all. However, later the IOC conventionally distributed bronze medals among the nations. Many athletes received no medals; they received cups and similar trophies instead.

OBVERSE: a composition of winged Goddess of Victory Nike flying over the stadium holding laurel branches for the winners. The composition has three captions, viz. the top caption reading “Republique Francaise” (French Republic), left caption reading “PARIS 1900”, and right caption reading “Exposition Universelle” (Universal International Exhibition), as well as the initial and name of the designer – “F. Vernon”.
REVERSE: a nude athlete with a mantle over his right shoulder and laurel branch in his right hand, arm raised; mountains and Parthenon in the background with the stadium arena underneath. The young athlete stands on a podium with the inscription in French “Championnat De Gymnastique” (Gymnastics Championship).
The plaque was made of bronze that is confirmed with inscription BRONZE on the ridge. The plaques were made not to award the winners of the Olympics but for some other purposes. Therefore they lack the inscription “Olympic Games”. There is a plaque version with the inscription on the podium reading: “EXCERCISES PHYSIQUES ET SPORTS” (“Physical Exercises and Sports”).

PARTICIPATION MEDAL
OBVERSE: a scene of the winged flying Goddess of Victory bearing a victorious athlete with a lit torch in his hand. The goddess holds a laurel crown and palm leaf. The composition includes a legend in French reading “Exposition Universelle Internationale Paris 1900” (Universal International Exhibition, Paris 1900), and lower inscription reading “Exercices Physiques Et Sports” (Physical Exercises and Sports) with a view of Paris in the background.
REVERSE: the symbol of France, Marianne, with a bridge over the Sena River, and an oak in the background; as well as the caption “Republique Francaise” (French Republic).
The plaque designer is Frenchman Jules Clement Chaplain who also designed the winner medals of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens.

SILVER-PATED WINNER PLAQUE (FIRST PRIZE)

Metal	Silver-plated bronze
Hight	60 mm
Width	42 mm
Thickness	4 mm
Weight	55 g
Designer	Frederic Vernon
Mint	Paris Mint (Paris France)

BRONZE WINNER PLAQUE (SECOND PRIZE)

Металл	bronze
Высота	60 mm
Ширина	42 mm
Толщина	4 mm
Вес	64 g
Автор	Frederic Vernon
Изготовитель	Paris Mint (Paris France)

PARTICIPATION MEDAL