The Oscars – Gold Plated and Debased Like Dollar

The Oscars – Worth Their Weight in Gold?

• 89th Oscars to air this weekend
• Oscars have been dipped in 24 karat gold since 1929
• If the Oscars were made of solid gold they would weigh 330 ounces
• 330 ounces of gold is worth $408,210 at today’s prices (nearly €400k & £330k)
• Oscars cannot be sold, making them a tricky investment piece
• Steven Spielberg keeps his gold Oscar with the Academy for ‘safe-keeping’
• Shows importance of owning gold in safest ways
• Price of gold has climbed from $20.67 since the first Oscars ceremony to over $1,237 today

‘We All Dream In Gold’ read the strap line for last year’s Academy Awards. This is no doubt still the case for the nominees of the 24 awards set to be given out at this Sunday’s 89th Oscars.

Since the first awards in 1929 nearly 3,000 oscar statues have been awarded to the lucky darlings of the film industry. After the teary speeches, after-parties and press junkets following their win, what is left for those who have achieved the highest-level of recognition in the film industry?

Winning an Oscar is an expensive business, studios spend millions trying to get their hands on at least one, each year. But film and celebrity is a fickle trade and few people can remember who received Oscars last year, let alone when they were first launched in 1929.

How much value do they really bring?

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