355 The exceptionally rare Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games silver bearer’s torch one of only 15 made and this example complete with original burner, designed by Aukusti Tuhka, manufactured by Kultakeskus Oy, Hameenlinna, the bowl in hallmarked silver with raised Olympic Rings and laurel wreath, inscribed XV OLYMPIA HELSINKI, 1952, further inscribed to rim beneath the bowl HELSINGFORS, HELSINKI, the handle in birch wood, length 59cm., 23 1/2in.


At the Helsinki 1952 Olympic Games only a total of 22 torches were manufactured, 15 with hallmarked silver bowls and 7 in plate with a plainer, simpler design. Compare this to the 8,000 torches produced for the most recent Summer Games in London in 2012 and the all-time record number of 15,000 torch bearers employed for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.


In the book Tuli Olympiasta [Came To Olympia) by Terttu Mammela, 2012, Finnish Sports Museum Foundation studies No. 1,978-952-6644-01-1 ISBN, ISSN 2243-1489, there is a detailed explanation in the chapter ‘After the Olympic Games’ on why the silver 1952 Helsinki Olymic Games torch is singularly the rarest bearer’s torch in the history of the Olympic Games:


“Of the original 15 silver torches five had been lost during the relay - four in Greece and one in Kokkola, Finland. After the relay the remaining ten torches were cleaned and repaired. Three silver torches were donated to the Olympic Committees of the countries that had hosted the torch relay: Greece, Denmark and Sweden. They were received by their respective high representatives who were present at the Olympic Games Poul Ingholt, President of the Danish NOC; Jean Ketseas, Greek Member of the IOC; and Prince Bertil of Sweden. The Greek and Danish torches are still in possession of the respective National Olympic Committees. The Swedish torch probably changed hands in the 1960s.


The airline company SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System), which had flown the Olympic flame from Greece to Denmark, also received a silver torch. It was handed to the company’s Finland manager Lennart Rehnqvist on 30th August 1952, and he passed it onto the traffic and sales director Johannes Nielsen in a ceremony held in Stockholm on 1st


September. The company used the torch as a


challenge trophy for its employees’ national sports club. The first winner of the yearly contest was the Danish club. The torch served in this capacity for about 10 years but was later forgotten. It re-emerged in 1994 and is now a cherished item in possession of SAS.


The Organising Committee had promised a silver torch to seven more recipients, but since only six were left, one more copy was commissioned from the manufacturer in October 1952. By the end of 1952 four museums had received a silver torch: The Sports Museum of Finland, the Helsinki City Museum, the provincial museum in Tornio and the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The remaining three silver torches were given in 1955 to the three central sports federations in Finland: The Finnish Gymnastic and Sport Federation (SVUL), the Workers’ Sport Federation (TUL) and the Swedish-language sport federation CIF. All seven torches donated to the museums and sports federations are still in possession of the original recipients.


The seven brass torches all survived after the torch relay. They were donated to the six members of the torch relay committee and to Erik von Frenckell, President of the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games. Today the whereabouts of the six brass torches are known. They are all in private ownership.


The five silver torches that were lost during the relay have dispersed into private collections over the decades. Because of their extremely limited number the Helsinki Olympic torches have become most valuable collector items. In the 21st


their auction prices have skyrocketed. In the winter of 2011 one Helsinki silver torch fetched over 340,000 Euros in an auction in Paris.”


As a footnote to the auction report in the final paragraph, the silver torch sold in Paris did not have its original burner unlike the example being offered here. £300,000 - 400,000


century


detail of silver hallmark 94


burner


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