In order to build the Statue of Liberty, collectors criss-crossed France to gather 2,250,000 (or $250,000 USD) Francs to fund the endeavor. That is quite a chunk of change to throw into a statue in the 19th century, but how much would it cost to buy all that metal back?
911Metallurgist.com measured the “real” (material) value of the most famous statues in the world, from the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen to the Motherland Monument in Kiev. Although it is unlikely that you would be able to walk up to the ticket booth to Lady Liberty, drop a stack of cash and walk home with a new source of copper, it is still interesting to see just how cheap some of the world’s most impressive monuments could be if they were sold as scrap. Considering that Lady Liberty drew in 4.5 million visitors in 2016, it’s low material value gives new perspective to the way we value art. 