Torchbearers get first dibs at a subsidized price, auction houses handle the rest, and one 1952 Helsinki torch sold for more than half a million dollars.
Relay news and campaign updates by email.
Yes, you can own a real Olympic torch, and there are two legitimate ways to do it. Carry one in the relay and buy it afterward, or buy one on the collector market from someone who did. Everything else on offer is a replica, a miniature or a scam.
At recent Games, torchbearers have been offered the chance to buy the torch they carried, usually at a subsidized price. London 2012 is the best documented example: each of the 8,000 torchbearers could buy their torch for 199 pounds before the relay, or 215 pounds on the day, against a production cost of roughly 594 pounds per torch. The organizing committee took a loss on every sale.
Exact prices vary by Games, but the carrier typically pays hundreds of dollars, not thousands. It is one of the quieter perks of becoming a torchbearer, and it is why so many relay torches are in private hands.
Paris 2024 changed the math. Organizers produced only about 2,000 torches for more than 10,000 torchbearers, roughly a fifth of what previous Games built, so most runners shared torches rather than keeping one. Fewer torches at the source means a tighter market for good.
Real torches trade constantly, and the range is enormous.
At the top sits Helsinki 1952. Only 22 torches were made for that relay, 15 of them with sterling silver bowls on birch handles. One sold at Graham Budd Auctions in 2015 for 420,000 pounds, about 555,000 dollars, still the record for any Olympic torch.
At the affordable end sits Berlin 1936, the first torch relay. Krupp manufactured 3,840 torches for 3,331 torchbearers, and that big production run keeps prices reasonable: RR Auction sold one for 5,738 dollars, about the price of a used car.
Modern torches sit in between and can spike. A Paris 2024 torch sold at RR Auction for 44,549 dollars while those Games were still fresh. During London 2012, torchbearers listing their 199-pound purchases on eBay attracted bids above 100,000 pounds, though it was never clear how many of those auctions completed. Auction house results are a better guide than mid-relay eBay bids.
Scarcity by Games matters most. Twenty-two Helsinki torches versus 8,000 London torches is a 350-fold difference in supply, and prices reflect it. Before you bid on anything, look up how many torches that Games produced.
Provenance comes next. A torch with a named torchbearer, a certificate and photos of the actual leg is worth more than an anonymous one. The best documented torches trace to a specific person on a specific street on a specific day.
Then condition and completeness: original fuel canister, no dents, intact finish, original box where one existed. Relay-carried torches show wear, and that is fine; documented history matters more than a showroom finish. Collectors also value the engineering, covered in how these torches are built.
Hometown Games carry hometown premiums, and the 1984 Los Angeles relay is the sentimental center of American torch collecting. Expect 2028 to add a new generation of LA collectors.
For buyers: replicas and official miniatures exist for many Games, and they are legitimate souvenirs until someone relists them as the real thing. Before you pay real-torch money, check the length, weight, materials and markings against auction house records and museum examples, and buy from established houses that guarantee authenticity. If a "genuine relay torch" is priced like a souvenir, it is a souvenir.
For would-be torchbearers: nobody can sell you a torchbearer slot. Selection runs through public nomination programs and Games sponsors. Anyone guaranteeing you a place in the relay for a fee is lying, and every Games cycle produces a fresh crop of these offers. The real path costs nothing but a good story and some persistence.
The torch I want is the one I carry myself: a 2028 torch with my name in the record, carried on a Santa Monica street during the 50-state relay. If you'd back me, nominate me here.