Why is the Golden Trophy Worth Only $1? EXPLAINED

Everyone keeps their eye on the prize at Oscars – the golden statuette cast in bronze and plated with gold. When people win, it’s life-defining moment for them, a marker and recognition of their hardwork and commitment.

But the award itself – the trophy – has a face value of only $1, or Rs 82. Why is this? News18 Explains:

If It’s So ‘Cheap’ Can You Buy an Oscar Trophy?

No.

Despite its low value, it is not for sale because the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences requires each winner to follow strict rules when it comes to the industry’s most coveted award, explains a report by Parade, including no selling or disposing of the statuette without first offering it back to the Academy for a single dollar bill.

In July 2015, a California judge forbade Oscar winners or their heirs from putting their statuettes up for sale, declaring that they “were never intended to be handled as an article of trade”.

“Award winners shall not sell or otherwise dispose of the Oscar statuette, nor permit it to be sold or disposed of by operation of law, without first offering to sell it to the Academy for the sum of $1.00. This provision shall apply also to the heirs and assigns of Academy Award winners who may acquire a statuette by gift or bequest,” the Academy says, as per a report by Diario AS.

Hence, while each statuette costs around $400 to make, its face value is only a dollar.

History

The first Oscar statuette was created in 1927 and was sculpted the following year, said the AS report. The figure was partially based on Mexican filmmaker and actor Emilio Fernández, who was ‘coaxed’ into posing for sketches for the initial design by MGM creative director Cedric Gibbons – the draft sketches were then sent to a young Los Angeles sculptor, George Stanley, who created the legendary figurine.

The Oscar statuette features a knight holding a sword in both hands, standing on a circular base shaped like a spool of film.

The Oscar statuettes were traditionally manufactured in solid bronze and then gilded in 24-karat gold. The procedure has evolved in response to technological advancements, explained the report. Polich Tallix, a New York-based fine art foundry, has been hired to make the Oscars since 2016. A 3D printer is used to construct a digital Oscar, which is subsequently cast in wax. After cooling, each wax figure is coated in a ceramic shell and allowed to cure for a few weeks before being fired at 1,600°F. The wax melts away throughout this procedure, leaving a hollow, Oscar-shaped structure. They are then cooled, sanded, and polished after being cast in liquid bronze. The statuettes are then taken across town to Brooklyn, where Epner Technologies Inc. electroplates each one in 24-karat gold.

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