★ The Sports Examiner: Chronicling the key competitive, economic and political forces shaping elite sport and the Olympic Movement. ★
A sponsored post by RR Auction.
Auctions of Olympic memorabilia often offer Olympic medals and Olympic torches, but it’s unheard of to offer a package of both in the same lot.
RR Auction’s latest program, which closes on 17 July, has them both, in lot 3120, including a Paris 2024 Olympic torch, a Paris 2024 Olympic gold medal from track & field and an athlete-edition Games poster, given to the medal winners on the victory stand.
The estimated sale price is $75,000, with bidding already at $12,100 with more than two weeks to go.
The newest Olympic offer from RR Auction also includes three of the five Olympic medals won by superstar diver Greg Louganis:
● $20,000: 1976 Montreal Olympic silver 10 m Platform ( 6 bids so far)
● $35,000: 1984 Los Angeles Olympic gold 3 m Springboard (6)
● $25,000: 1988 Seoul Olympic gold 10 m Platform (10)
These medals have been offered before, primarily in fund-raising forums, but are now presented to serious Olympic memorabilia collectors. Not on auction are Louganis’ Olympic golds for the 1984 Platform and 1988 Springboard titles.
There is an impressive array of 67 Olympic medals being offered all together, including 25 more with a projected sales estimate of $10,000 or more:
● $40,000: 2006 Turin Winter gold for ice hockey
● $30,000: 1964 Tokyo Olympic gold for fencing
● $30,000: 2020 Tokyo Olympic silver for judo
● $30,000: 2024 Paris Olympic bronze for canoeing
● $25,000: 1904 St. Louis Olympic bronze for tug-of-war
● $25,000: 1908 London Olympic gold for field hockey
● $25,000: 1932 Los Angeles Olympic gold, with box
● $25,000: 1964 Innsbruck Winter gold for speed skating
● $20,000: 1920 Antwerp Olympic gold for shooting
● $20,000: 1998 Nagano Winter bronze for ski jumping
● $20,000: 2016 Rio Olympic silver for judo
● $15,000: 1968 Mexico City Olympic gold for fencing
● $15,000: 1984 Los Angeles Olympic silver for equestrian
● $15,000: 1992 Albertville Winter bronze medal
● $15,000: 2004 Athens Olympic gold for boxing
● $12,000: 2008 Beijing Olympic silver for baseball
● $10,000: 1924 Chamonix Winter bronze medal
● $10,000: 1936 Olympic silver for equestrian (and other items)
● $10,000: 1948 St, Moritz winner medal set (gold-silver-bronze)
● $10,000: 1956 Melbourne silver medal for football
● $10,000: 1960 Rome bronze medal for shooting
● $10,000: 1964 Innsbruck Winter silver for ice hockey
● $10,000: 1972 Munich Olympic gold for rowing
● $10,000: 1980 Lake Placid Winter gold medal sample
● $10,000: 2006 Turin Winter silver for speed skating
Not many Paris 2024 medals have come up for auction yet, so the two in this sale are noteworthy for collectors eager to update their displays.
There is also an excellent selection of Olympic torches – 36 lots in all – including the famed 1968 Grenoble Winter Games torch, of which only 33 were made. The rarity creates not only a high estimated sales price, but also a unpublished reserve price, below which the item will not be sold. There are seven torches offered at a sales estimate of $10,000 or more:
● $150,000: 1968 Grenoble Winter torch
● $50,000: 1952 Oslo Winter torch
● $30,000: 1994 Lillehammer Winter torch
● $20,000: 1972 Sapporo Winter torch
● $20,000: 2024 Paris Olympic torch
● $15,000: 1956 Melbourne Olympic torch
● $15,000: 1988 Calgary Winter torch
The Oslo ‘52 torch – the first Winter Games torch relay – is a scarce find, with only 95 produced.
For those interested in starting an instant collection of torches, a combination pack of torches from Los Angeles 1984 and Winter Games torch from Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 is available, with a projected price of $6,000. But six bids are in already!
There are also some interesting, unusual items, expected to bring strong interest:
● $25,000: 1936 Berlin IOC Chain of Office
● $15,000: 1904 St. Louis participation medal
● $15,000: 1932 Lake Placid Winter IOC badge (1 of 20)
● $15,000: 1938 FFF FIFA World Cup winner’s medal
● $10,000: 1948 St. Moritz Winter IOC President badge
● $10,000: 41 Participation medals from 1896-Vancouver 2010
The St. Louis 1904 participation medal is one of the rarest and most sought-after, and is not included in the 41-medal offer of most of the participation medals from the 1896 Athens Games to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.
The 1938 FIFA World Cup gold medal was not a FIFA award, but created by the host French Football Federation and in addition to being awarded to the winning Italian team, these were also given to some FIFA officers and officials from the Federation Francaise de Football.
The cutest item has to be a 1970s Springbok Editions poster from the Peanuts series, featuring a smiling Snoopy thinking “Support the Olympics…Hug an Athlete!”
The latest RR Auction is open for bidding, but open bidding will close on 17 July.
A sponsored post by RR Auction.
¶
For information about advertising and sponsored posts, please contact us here.
You can receive our exclusive TSX Report by e-mail by clicking here. You can also refer a friend by clicking here.
