The aluminium sculpture, which was designed by veteran Disney artist John Hench, is Torch number 12 of 23 for the Games that took place in the United States ski resort.

The Torch Relay for those Olympics began at Søndre Norheim's - the pioneer of modern skiing - home in Morgedal, Norway before being driven by car to Oslo and Copenhagen and transported by plane to Los Angeles.

It was then carried by more than 600 high school students to San Francisco and Sacramento before arriving in Squaw Valley.

There it was taken by helicopter to Little Papoose Peak from where Andrea Mead Lawrence, two-time Oslo 1952 gold medallist in slalom and giant slalom, skied down with the Torch to hand it to Oslo speed skating champion Kenneth Henry, who skated around the rink of the Blyth Memorial Arena before lighting the Cauldron on the Tower of the Nations at the Opening Ceremony.

Also featuring at the auction, which ends on October 4, is an Oslo 1952 Winter Olympic Torch estimated at $85,000 (£52,000/€66,000).

Less than 100 of these Geir Grung and Adolf Thoresen-designed items were made for the Games, which staged the first Torch Relay of the Winter Olympics.

A Chamonix 1924 Winter Olympic bronze medal is estimated to fetch $15,000 at auction ©Ingrid O'Neil


Among the 40 medals being auctioned, 17 of which were not awarded to athletes, is a bronze medal from the Chamonix 1924 Winter Olympics, where only 258 athletes competed.

This item, which depicts a victorious athlete holding skates and skis with the Alps in the background, is expected to sell for an estimated $15,000 (£9,000/€11,500).

Other items up for sale include a rare Athens 1906 cased gold medal estimated at $9,000 (£5,500/€6,900), a Paris 1924 gold medal winner's vase estimated at $15,000 (£9,000/€11,500), a Berlin 1936 bronze medal estimated at $6,000 (£3,700/€4,600) and an un-awarded Mexico City 1968 silver medal estimated at $5,000 (£3,000/€3,900).

Many other Torches, medals and Games memorabilia feature in the auction, the catalogue for which can be viewed here. 

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