The medal, won by the American track and field great at the 1936 Berlin Games, could sell for upward of $1-million in an online auction, which runs from November 20 to December 7, said SCP Auctions.
Owens won gold in the 100 and 200m sprints, the 400m relay and the long jump at the Olympics attended by Nazi leader Hitler, who had hoped to use the Games as a platform to demonstrate the superiority of the Aryan race.
According to the California-based auction house, the medal to be sold is unidentifiable to a specific event. It says Owens gave the medal to his friend, the dancer and movie star Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, as a gift for helping him find work in entertainment after he returned from Berlin.
The medal is being sold by the estate of Robinson's late widow, Elaine Plaines-Robinson. SCP Auctions vice-president Dan Imler said on Monday the Owens family had confirmed the medal was original. The whereabouts of the other three is unknown.
Owens was later issued a replacement set that is part of an exhibit at Ohio State, his alma mater.
Imler says the Robinson family plans to use part of the proceeds to fund college education for their children and donate to charity. – Sapa-AP