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A sponsored post by RR Auction.
Imagine if you could buy, all at once, a collection of most of the Olympic torches since the torch relay was introduced at the 1936 Berlin Games?
You can, but you have to hurry.
The Fred Raymon Collection of Olympic memorabilia is on sale from RR Auction, with primary bidding opportunities closing at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday (23rd). Raymon, a teacher in New York State who passed away last year, was a devoted Olympic collector and attended many of the Games with the Track & Field News Olympic Tour.
His assembled a collection of 25 torches that is now on sale in a single lot:
● Olympic Games (17): Berlin 1936, London 1948, Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Tokyo 1964, Mexico City 1968 (type 1), Munich 1972, Montreal 1976, Moscow 1980, Seoul 1988, Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, Paris 2024.
● Winter Games (8): 1980 Lake Placid, Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, Beijing 2022.
These are all considered to be in generally fine condition; the Lake Placid 1980 torch is considered exceptionally rare.
The collection is already at $44,291 after 11 bids and is forecast to go as high as $115,000 at the end!
That’s only one of 308 lots in this auction with 37 more items expected to bring $10,000 or more:
● $40,000: 1894 IOC Session commemorative medal
● $40,000: 1896 Athens second-place medal
● $40,000: 1924 Chamonix Winter gold medal
● $40,000: 1968 Mexico City Olympic torch (type 6)
● $40,000: 1992 Albertville Winter torch
● $40,000: 2006 Turin Winter gold medal (cross country)
● $30,000: 1964 Tokyo gold medal (fencing)
● $30,000: 1980 Lake Placid Winter torch
● $30,000: 1994 Lillehammer Winter torch
● $25,000: 1904 St. Louis participation honorary badge/medal
● $25,000: 1908 London gold medal (field hockey)
● $20,000: 1900 Paris bronze trophy gifted by Pierre de Coubertin
● $20,000: 1972 Sapporo Winter torch
● $20,000: 1976 Innsbruck Winter torch
● $20,000: 1912 Stockholm gold medal (shooting) ~ Fred Raymon Collection
● $20,000: 1924 Chamonix Winter IOC official’s badge
● $20,000: 1936 Berlin gold medal
● $20,000: 1992 Barcelona medal set (unawarded)
● $20,000: Olympic Order in Gold (awarded 1992)
● $18,000: 1956 Melbourne Olympic torch
● $15,000: 1920 Antwerp Paavo Nurmi trophy, gifted by Pierre de Coubertin
● $15,000: 1930 FIFA World Cup gold medal
● $15,000: 1956 Cortina Winter torch
● $15,000: 1968 Mexico City gold medal (volleyball)
● $15,000: 1988 Calgary Winter torch
● $15,000: 2024 Paris Olympic torch
● $14,000: 1906 Athens Intercalated Games gold medal
● $12,500: 1920 Antwerp gold medal (tug of war)
● $12,500: 1920 Antwerp gold medal (sailing)
● $12,000: 1996 Atlanta gold medal (baseball)
● $12,000: 2004 Athens silver medal (taekwondo)
● $11,000: 1904 St. Louis participation medal
● $10,000: 1912 Stockholm tennis participant badge
● $10,000: 1920 Antwerp gold medal (shooting)
● $10,000: 1968 Mexico City medals set (basketball)
● $10,000: 2026 Milan Cortina Winter torch
● $10,000: 50 Games participation medals set ~ Fred Raymon Collection
The rare Lake Placid torch is already at $20,000 after seven bids. The 1896 Athens second-place medal is bronze, with reportedly only 150 struck in total.
The 1968 Mexico City medal set for basketball includes a gold, silver and bronze medal, which were not awarded during the Games. The 1992 Olympic Order in Gold belonged to Barcelona organizing committee vice president Javier Gomez-Navarro, who was also Spain’s sports minister from 1987-93; he passed away in 2024. His estate also included the rare 1894 commemorative medal of the first IOC Session.
The highly-unusual FIFA “gold medal” from the first World Cup in 1930 in Uruguay was presented to then-FIFA President Jules Rimet (FRA), one of the driving forces behind the creation of the event.
A real rarity is a 1910 badge for members of the International Olympic Committee, expected to go for $800. And amid all of the amazing artifacts, is another Olympic torch item: a Munich 1972 souvenir lighter in the shape of a torch ($100 opening bid).
An excellent selection of Olympic diplomas is also available, for those looking for wall decor that your Olympic-fan friends won’t have.
This is a fairly astonishing collection of unique Olympic items, but a one-time-only opportunity to acquire a close-to-complete collection of Olympic torches, from a devoted collector. But you have to hurry; primary bidding closes at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday.
A sponsored post by RR Auction.
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