A torch from the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics has sold for $37,553.
It was among the stars of a sale of Olympic memorabilia at RR Auction on July 20.
Designer Don McFarland created the Lake Placid torch
It was created by designer Don McFarland, who used materials similar to those employed in ancient Greece.
The auction house explained: “A mere 140 torches were manufactured for the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, one of the smallest production runs for any Olympic torch.
“They are therefore extremely rare, and this is the first example we have offered.”
Other highlights of the sale included a near complete set of participation medals from throughout the history of the Summer Olympics.
Thirty-one medals featured in the lot, including one from the inaugural modern Games in Athens in 1896 and another from Rio 2016.
The only example missing was the 1904 St Louis participation medal, which is unusually rare. They generally sell for around $20,000 apiece.
Participation medals are handed out to all competitors at the Games and offer collectors the chance to build up a complete collection at a significant discount compared with gold, silver and bronze medals.
The lot realised $22,233.
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