The decision by French organisers to limit the number of Torches produced to just 2,000 means the auction houses who specialise in Olympic memorabilia will be expecting plenty of competition among collectors when they start being put up for sale.

By way of comparison, 12,000 Torches were manufactured for London 2012, and one given to each runner who carried it. Even more were produced by Sochi 2014, whose Torch Relay had 15,000 participants.

To many people, the Torch has come to symbolise the Olympics and everything it is supposed to stand for, so it is no surprise they have become collectors' items. But this is not a cheap hobby and is one only a limited number of collectors can participate in.

Only last week, a Torch from the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble went up for sale with Boston-based RR Auction and sold for $187,500 (£146,000/€171,000). Crafted from a captivating rose-gold bronze alloy with a red felt-wrapped grip by Société Technique d'Equipement et de Fournitures Industrielle, this Torch is among the most highly prized by collectors as only 33 were manufactured.

The attraction of the Olympic Torch to many collectors is that the ceremony of it is steeped in ancient tradition but also each Games produces something unique, often representing the best in art and design from the host country. Evolving from a simple metal handle and flare of Berlin 1936, today's Torches are sophisticated and elaborate devices.

Collectors have claimed that Torches are a sound investment that will outperform other sports memorabilia due to the unique status and history of the Olympic Games.

"Ritualistic and magical in equal measure, the Torch is a mythical object," the Paris 2024 Torch designer Mathieu Lehanneur said when his design was launched earlier this week. 

"A symbol of cohesion and sharing, it really does play a key role in the Games. It will travel thousands of kilometres, passed from person to person, on land and sea. For Paris 2024, and for the first time in its history, it plays on perfect symmetry, speaking to us more clearly about equality."

Even rarer than the Grenoble 1968 Olympic Torch is the one from Helsinki 1952, for which only 22 were made. Of these, 15 were hallmarked with silver bowls and silver in plate with a plainer, simpler design. 

In his book about those Games in the Finnish capital, Tuli Olympiasta, author Terttu Mämmela wrote, "Of the original 15 Helsinki silver Torches five had been lost during the Relay - four in Greece and one in Kokkola, Finland."

While others went to official recipients, those lost silver Torches "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 2015, British businessman and former owner of Saracens Rugby Club Nigel Wray paid a then record £420,000 ($537,000/€490,000) when a Helsinki 1952 Torch came up for sale with Graham Budd Auctions. For Wray, it was a small price for a man worth an estimated £315 million ($403 million/€367 million) but it completed his collection of Olympic Torches since they first used at Berlin 1936.

The price Wray paid beat the record set by another Helsinki 1952 Torch, which sold for €290,000 (£249,000/$318,000) at Paris auctioneers Bernard Vassy et Philippe Jalenques in February 2011, although that particular model was missing its burner.

The current record set at auction for an Olympic Torch was for one from the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, which was once in the possession of Walt Disney, who had been in charge of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at those Games. Of the 23 produced for the event in California, Ingrid O’Neil sold it for $720,000 (£563,000/€656,000).

Another expensive Torch sold by O’Neil was one that most people do not even know exist. Due to Australia’s strict quarantine laws of the time, the equestrian events for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne took place in Stockholm, who produced five special Torches to mark the occasion.

A few years ago, she was contacted by a man who had gone to Sweden on a college exchange and been given one of the Torches as a souvenir by the horse-owning family he had stayed with. 

He got home and put it in the closet for decades until he found it and sent an email to O’Neil. She estimated it was worth $175,000 (£137,000/€159,000). It eventually sold for $412,500 (£322,500/€376,000). 

"He was very happy," O’Neil said.

Wray is among the select group of collectors to own a complete collection of Olympic Torches. The number who can make such a boast is not known but is probably less than half-a-dozen.

Australian businessman and philanthropist Victor Hoog Antink recently put his complete collection of Summer Olympic Torches, including a prized Helsinki 1952 artefact, on display at Bond University in Queensland.

He began sourcing the Torches in 2000, after he took part in the Sydney Olympic Torch Relay. 

"Participants in the Relay were given the opportunity to purchase a Torch and, as a result of that experience, I developed a keen interest and passion for collecting them," said Hoog Antink.

"Since then, I have sourced Torches online, used a broker in Vancouver and even flew to Greece to collect a rare Torch from the 1952 Helsinki Olympics.

"I have always admired the Olympic spirit and believe the Torch is an enduring symbol of that commitment, strength and courage that the Games represent."

Torches from the Winter Olympics tend to be rarer than ones made for the Summer Games. Relay participants at Calgary 1988, for example, were not allowed to keep their Torches. 

Only about 150 were made and Team Petroleum, sponsors of the Relay, took all the Torches not given to dignitaries and smashed them. Of course, this made them highly prize, with the most recent one sold in 2016, fetching $46,000 (£36,000/€42,000) at sale organised by RR Auction.

For Olympic enthusiasts looking to get into Torch collecting, the newer models for Games like London 2012 are relatively easy to find and sell for as little as $1,500 (£1,200/€1,400). 

For the Olympics where fewer Torches were produced, collectors can expect to pay between $15,000 (£11,750/€13,700) and $70,000 (£55,000/€64,000). Then, for the really-rare Torches, where the top collectors are competing against each other, unless you can afford six-figures, there is no point even bothering.

It is expected that Torches from Paris 2024 will be presented to each town and community which hosts the Relay. 

Most will be given pride of place in the local town hall, but some will make their way to auction, where you can be sure there will be stiff competition among collectors to make sure they own a unique piece of timeless Olympic history.