A victory at the Masters Tournament is often deemed priceless.

But Henry G. Picard's gold medal from the 1938 Masters Tournament is going on the auction block at Sotheby's International Auction House and is expected to command up to $70,000.

Sotheby's made headlines in 1996 when it auctioned off a set of John F. Kennedy's MacGregor golf clubs for $772,500.

The pre-sale estimate for Mr. Picard's medal, which is the first one issued after the tournament was officially named the Masters, is $50,000-$70,000.

``I'm not sure it will get the money that JFK's golf clubs did, but it's still a pretty sexy item,` said Paul Song, head of Sotheby's coin and medals department.

The medal bears an image of the Augusta National Golf Club clubhouse on one side and the Masters logo and winner's name and date of his victory engraved on the other side. It is 10 karat, weighs about two ounces and is 2 1/4 inches in diameter, Mr. Song said.

Sotheby's announced Thursday that the medal will be auctioned off June 29 in New York City.

Sotheby's specialists believe Mr. Picard's medal is the first one of its kind to have ever been auctioned.

``You never see this kind of thing in a public auction,'' said Mr. Song.

A Hall-of-Fame golfer, Mr. Picard died in 1997. The medal is being sold by a relative of Mr. Picard and Sotheby officials said they are convinced it is authentic.