Squaw Valley 1960 Winter Olympic Torch up for auction

Check this out…The official torch from the 1960 Winter Olympics held in Squaw Valley, California, is set to be sold to the highest bidder this month. RR Auction …and expected to fetch at least $500,000.

This Olympic Torch was designed by legendary Disney Imagineers John Hench … Around the perimeter of the bowl are cut-outs of the three Olympic rings and a circular inscription reads “VIII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES.”

The flame features the Squaw Valley Games emblem between two branches and the words “Olympia to Squaw Valley,” referring to the torch's intended route from Greece to California.

As those alive at the time may remember, the flame was actually lit in Norway because the Olympic Committee messed up the lighting ceremony in Greece, then it was driven to Oslo and then to Copenhagen, where it was loaded onto a plane and flown to Los Angeles.

Once in California, the torchbearers traveled north through Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, San Francisco and Sacramento before arriving in Squaw Valley.

Team USA Skiers Andrew Mead Lawrencecarried the torch during the opening ceremony, along with eight members of the National Ski Patrol… and then passed the flame to the skaters. Kenneth Charles Henrytook a lap around the ice at Bryce Memorial Arena before lighting the Olympic cauldron, which will remain burning throughout the games.

Over 64 years later, the torch still has its burner wick intact, but there are some scuffs on the bowl and handle.

After the Games ended, the torch was held by a California state official in charge of the safety of the torchbearers, but it is now about to be handed over.