Fifteen Oscar statues were auctioned for a stunning $3 million in a sale by Beverly Hills auctioneer Nate D. Sanders, his company announced on Tuesday.
The highest bid went to the Academy Award for writer Herman Mankiewicz’s 1941 Best Screenplay for "Citizen Kane," which sold for $588,455. Christie’s previously sold the Academy Award in 1999 for $244,500.
In December 2011, Nate D. Sanders sold Orson Welles’ Academy Award for the film for $861,542.
Read also: Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' Oscar Sells for Nearly $1 Million
Other eye-popping prices for the gold statue included $274,520 paid for the Best Picture winner in 1941, "How Green Was My Valley." That Oscar sold previously in 2004 for $95,600.
Auctioneer Nate D. Sanders said, “People continue to be drawn to the magic of the movies and were extremely enthusiastic bidding on the Oscars, which accounted for the high demand and sales prices.”
The auction took place two days after the 84th Academy Awards, in which "The Artist" won Best Picture.
Other Oscars at auction included:
>>The 1933 Best Picture Oscar awarded to "Cavalcade" went for the second highest total selling for $332,165. It was the first picture produced by Fox Film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture.
>>Norman Taurog's 1931 Best Director Oscar for "Skippy" netted the third highest total. The oldest Oscar in the lot, it sold for $301,973.
>>"Citizen Kane" cinematographer Gregg Toland’s 1939 Oscar for his work in "Wuthering Heights" was sold for $226,876. In 2004, Hantman’s sold the Academy Award for $27,500.
>>Ronald Colman’s 1947 Best Actor Oscar for "A Double Life" sold for $206,250.
>>Charles Coburn’s 1943 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for "The More the Merrier" — the first year that best supporting actors were awarded statutes — went under the hammer for $170,459.
