Of course, winning an Oscar is priceless. But how much would it cost to buy one of the golden statuettes if you weren't presented with one at the Academy Awards?
Well, much depends on when the Oscar was originally awarded. For example, in 2001 Steven Spielberg purchased Bette Davis’s 1938 Best Actress Oscar for her role in Jezebel for $578,000, and in 2014, Joseph Wright’s 1943 Best Colour Art Direction Oscar for My Gal Sal sold for $79,200.
However, since 1951, anyone who wins an Oscar has to sign an agreement that includes a no-resale rule introduced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. If you wanted to sell your 'priceless' Oscar you could, but you had to offer it to the Academy first for $10. That was amended in 2015 when a court ruling stated that anyone selling an Oscar statue should offer it to the Academy first for one measly dollar.
“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,” says the Academy’s site. “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 has successfully sued people who have tried to sell their Oscar without first giving them their $1 option.
So, technically an Oscar is only worth a single US dollar (blood, sweat, and tears nonrefundable); even though the statuettes apparently cost $400 to make and are made from solid bronze and plated in 24-karat gold.