(Gulfnews) New York: Orson Welles's 1941 Oscar for Citizen Kane, considered one of the greatest movies of all time, will go on the auction block in December.
The Academy Award for Best Screenplay is expected to sell for an estimated $800,000 (Dh2,938,280) to $1.2 million, Sotheby's auction house said on Tuesday.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said it has no plans to block the sale.
"We're never happy to see Academy Awards go on sale," said Bruce Davis, executive director of the academy.
The golden statuette, believed to have been once lost by Welles himself, resurfaced in 1994, and after an extended legal battle was returned to his estate.
In 2003, it was acquired by the Dax Foundation, a Los Angeles-based charity. The proceeds will help fund the organisation's worldwide efforts.
Citizen Kane was voted the number one film in history by the American Film Institute in 2007 and by the British Film Institute in 2002. The Oscar will be sold December 11 and displayed at Sotheby's in New York from December 7-10.