The Hollywood Film Academy (AMPAS, for its acronym in English: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), makes Oscar-winning actors sign a contract or commitment by which the winner and his heirs grant the academy itself a right to Preferential acquisition , for the ridiculous price of a dollar, on the golden statuette that represents it, in case they want to sell it to a third party. This imposition dates from 1950, so the trophies awarded before that year are not subject to this restriction on the freedom of trade. Due to this fact, Oscars from the first half of the 20th century are traded on the collector’s market at exorbitant prices . In fact, many of the statuettes that were not protected under this law were sold at public and private auctions for amounts in excess of six figures. In December 2011, the Oscar that Orson Welles won for Citizen Kane in 1941 was auctioned after his heirs won a legal dispute in 2004 that ensured that the filmmaker had never signed any commitment to return the statuette to the Academy.
The restriction affects both academy award holders and their heirs. If the Oscar winner refuses to sign the pledge, the academy keeps the statuette, although formally the first will always appear in the archives as the winner of the Oscar in the corresponding category.
The direct sale or auction of other awards, beyond their economic value, have bailed out, in different facets to the world of cinema, basketball or American football players. Some have made good money selling their NBA or NFL championship rings , either to maintain their lifestyle for a few months or to pay off their creditors, either for gambling debts, bad investments or alimony.
