The awards are dipped in liquid gold.
Each year the Television Academy hands out dozens of shiny awards, and in the months leading up to the event, actors, directors and production companies fight tooth and nail to win these little golden statues.
Variety estimates that companies spend roughly $1 million for a top-tier Emmy campaign, and with good reason. For studios, winning an Emmy means greater exposure. For actors, winning an Emmy means bigger paychecks and a broader range of opportunities.
But what’s the statue itself worth?
According to the Los Angeles Times, the statues are made of copper and nickel and dipped in liquid gold. They cost between $300 and $400 to manufacture and weigh about 128 ounces, approximately the weight of a gallon of water. (The current going rate for an ounce of gold is about $1,196.30, so if Emmys were made of solid gold, they would be worth about $153,126.)
Of course, the market value of individual Emmy statues varies according to who won them, and for what. In a moment of financial despair, late film star Burt Reynolds sold the Emmy he won for his work on “Evening Shade” in 1991 for $28,125 at auction. According to Vanity Fair, he also sold his 1998 Golden Globe Award for $21,250 and his 1983 People’s Choice Award for $10,625.
And the value of such an award, for the recipient, can transcend financial gain. During the recent Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards last week, actor Gerald McRaney told Fox News, “[An Emmy is] worth a great deal, because you’ve been recognized by your peers.”
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Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC and CNBC.
