RIAA Gold Award for Us3 album Hand On The Torch. Released on Nov. 16, 1993 it was certified Gold by the RIAA on Mar. 8, 1994 for 500,000 copies sold.

The album featured the hit "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)", featuring UK trumpeter Gerard Presencer, which reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and also charted in many other countries. This propelled the album to #31 on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart and also brought it a Grammy award nomination. By 1999 the album was certified Platinum by the RIAA for one million copies sold.

Item Highlights:

• RIAA Gold Album award
• In Excellent condition
• First presentation award from 1994
• Presented to record label executive
• All original with manufacturer sticker
  
• Letter of provenance included
• Known as a RIAA "R hologram" award they were made from 1990-97
• Award measures 19" x 22"
• Great collectors item for any Us3 fan

Detailed Item Description: This RIAA Gold award is a first presentation award that would have been manufactured in 1994 making it 30 years old. It is presented to then Capitol Records President/CEO Hale Milgram. A fun quirk of this award is that the phrase "SHIT HAPPENS" was engraved in the dead wax area of the gold disc, upside down on the top side (see photo).

The award is in Excellent condition with only a very few mars on the plexiglass and frame. This award is all original with Creative Glassics manufacturer sticker and a note written by the recipient about the success of the album for Bruce Lundvall and Blue Note Records.

Notes on the condition of all vintage RIAA awards like this one: Please do not buy this item if you want a brand new piece of memorabilia. These are historical artifacts from the year they were produced. As a result they may show signs of wear. Frankly, if you see a 20 to 50-year-old award purported to be in 100% perfect condition, it might be too good to be true. After all, an antique should have "good' wear. If not, you might want to question the piece.

As to where they came from, they could have been displayed in record label offices, recording studios, artist manager's offices, radio stations, private collector's homes and yes, of course, possibly the artist's or songwriter's home. Typically, we don't know all the places they may have been over the years other than what we've stated in the description.