Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Acquires Rare Olympic Torch Collection
ORLANDO, Fla., August 28, 2024 (Newswire.com) - Ripley's Believe It or Not! proudly announces the acquisition of a remarkable collection of nearly complete set of Olympic torches.
Ripley's compilation of Olympic torches now stands as one of the world's largest and most valuable private collections. It showcases a remarkable 116 torches with a more than $10 million combined value. The company's most recent purchase of 45 torches from a private collector has further enhanced the existing Ripley collection.
"The Ripley collection of authentic Olympic torches rivals any in the world. The Olympic Museum (founded by the International Olympic Committee) in Switzerland and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado feature 'complete' collections, including authorized replicas of Innsbruck 1964. Many of the earlier games produced very small numbers of torches, most of which are in museums, making a complete private collection a challenging feat," noted Ripley's Director of Exhibits John Corcoran.
Ripley's collection remains unmatched, with rare highlights including:
- The 1936 Berlin Games torch, which is highly coveted and historically significant, as this was the first time the torch relay was introduced.
- The 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics torch, signifying the first time the Games were held in the U.S. and a new standard for Olympic presentations thanks to pageantry committee chairman Walt Disney.
- All seven versions of the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics torch. The creation of different versions of this torch was due to design flaws that caused burns on torch bearer's hands.
- The most recent 2024 Paris Olympic torch.
- The most valuable torch in the collecting world, the 1952 Helsinki Olympics torch.
Ripley's collection is now only missing the 1964 Innsbruck torch, of which only two were made.
Ripley's plans to display this collection of Olympic torches — along with other Olympic and Paralympic items, including a torch signed by Muhammad Ali — at Ripley's Believe It or Not! attractions around the world.
Source: Ripley Entertainment
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