Rio 2016 and the Brazilian Mint unveiled on Thursday (9 June) the souvenir medallions for this year's Olympic and Paralympic Games. Available in gold, silver, ‘golden bronze’, and bronze – and bearing designs of famous Rio landmarks, the Rio 2016 mascots and the torch relay – they are sure to become hot property among collectors of Olympic and Paralympic memorabilia.

“Thanks to this initiative, any Brazilian citizen and any of our cherished foreign visitors who come to the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be able to acquire a keepsake of the event,” said Lara Caracciolo Amorelli, interim president of the Brazilian Mint.

Brazilian Mint to produce Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games medals

Rio 2016 licensing director Sylmara Multini said: “This launch concludes the line of collectable products for the Rio 2016 Games that promises to attract collectors from Brazil and the whole world.”

Available to buy at four sales points around Rio de Janeiro (see list below), the medallions retail from R$70 (US$21) to R$9,560 (US$2,817). There is also a website, available only in Portuguese, where the medallions can be seen and purchased by residents of Brazil.

(Photo: Rio 2016/Gabriel Nascimento)

The Olympic Torch medallion (above), of which only 50 have been produced, is the most expensive item in the series and is likely to be a rare collector's piece. One side shows an ancient Greek priestess lighting the torch in Olympia, while the reverse portrays the modern torch relay. The gold medallion weighs 17.7 grams.

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The silver medallion, of which 2,000 units have been produced, shows Sugarloaf Mountain on one side and athletes on the podium on its reverse, and retails for R$280 (US$82).

Paralympic mascot Tom and Christ the Redeemer grace these medallions (Photo: Rio 2016/Saulo Pereira Guimarães)

Mascots Vinicius and Tom star on final batch of Rio 2016 commemorative coins

The ‘golden bronze’ medallions – which feature Olympic mascot Vinicius and the Christ the Redeemer statue, or Paralympic mascot Tom and the Sambódromo – are on sale for R$188 (US$55). Each design has been minted 2,500 times and weighs 24 grams. The bronze medallions, which also weigh 24 grams and feature the same designs, cost R$70 and have each been produced 5,500 times.

The medallions were produced with sustainability in mind, using gold from mines that do not work with mercury and utilising metal by-products from the factory in west Rio.

Sales points

Copacabana MegaStore
Avenida Atlântica, Copacabana
On sale: 1 July-5 October (9am-9pm)

Olympic Park MegaStore
Avenida Embaixador Abelardo Bueno 3,401, Barra da Tijuca
On sale: 5-21 August and 8-17 September (9am-9pm)

CMB Building
Praça da República 26, Centro
On sale: 1 August-18 September (9am-6pm, except Saturdays and Sunday)

Nave Olímpica do Engenhão
Rua José dos Reis, Engenho de Dentro
On sale: 18 July-18 September (9am-9pm Mon-Sat, 9am-4.30pm Sun)