The Torch From the 1960 Winter Olympics Could Fetch More Than $500,000 at Auction

As we gear up for Paris 2024, a trove of Olympics memorabilia is hitting the auction block.

The Boston-based RR Auction is selling almost 400 pieces of sports history, including a whopping 71 Olympic medals and 40 Olympic torches from years past. The headliner is a rare Olympic torch from the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley, which is expected to hammer down for more than $500,000.

“We’re delighted to offer the most extensive Olympic auction we’ve ever put together, consisting of important material from every Olympiad. . .including the first-ever offered 2024 Paris torch,” Bobby Livingston, the executive vice president of RR Auction, said in a statement. “This auction is an Olympic collectors’ dream.”

The Squaw Valley torch is considered to be one of the rarest and most valuable ever made. Walt Disney himself was in charge of organizing the torch relay that year, and he had the Disney Imagineer John Hench design the torch. Hench took inspiration from the 1948 and 1956 torches, and his design sees three Olympic rings cut out around the bowl. The circular legend reads “VIII Olympic Winter Games” above that year’s emblem framed by two branches and an inscription that says “Olympia to Squaw Valley.”

The 19-inch-long silver aluminum torch was intended to begin its journey in Olympia, Greece, but time constraints forced it to start out in Morgedal, Norway. It was driven to Oslo and Copenhagen, then flown to Los Angeles before traveling throughout California to Squaw Valley. There, the Olympic cauldron was lit by the skater Kenneth Charles Henry.

This specific torch, which is designated as No. 10 on the bottom of its handle, came from the estate of a California employee who oversaw the safety of torch runners during the relay. And while so far it’s sitting at just over $200,000 on the auction website, it’s expected to more than double that price tag by the time the auction ends on July 18.

Other highlights of the sale include a torch from the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble (expected to fetch more than $150,000) and, as Livingston mentioned, a brand-new torch from this year’s Summer Games (more than $35,000). Before the athletes compete in Paris later this month, though, we get to duke it out for possession of some true Olympics history.