Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scientists prize-winning work revealed by rare Nobel medal

Post Thumbnail

JULIEN’S AUCTIONS in far-off California brought a rarity to the market on November 17 – the Nobel Prize gold medal awarded in 1956 to British scientist Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood.

Not just the names Cyril and (ahem) Norman are rare nowadays! This was one of just eight Nobel Prizes to have ever been sold – and the first example I can recall since the medal of James Watson of DNA double helix fame sold for £2.6 million in 2014.

In fact, I have clapped eyes on just one Nobel gold medal – the 1988 award to former Dundee University chancellor Sir James Black, now on show at the National Galleries in Edinburgh.

London-born Hinshelwood’s work in explosives and chain reactions led, rather remarkably, to the development of antibiotics and other therapeutic agents.

He studied the explosive reaction of hydrogen and oxygen and described the phenomenon of chain reaction. His subsequent work on chemical changes in the bacterial cell proved to be of great importance in later medical research.

The medal was solid 23-carat gold and weighed 202 grams. One side showed the profile of Alfred Nobel and on the other the goddess Nature bearing a cornucopia with the Genius of Science holding up her veil. Below was a plaque engraved with Hinshelwood’s name.

The medal was housed in a fitted red leather box stamped with the winner’s name in gold.

After his death in 1967, Hinshelwood’s Nobel medal was sold by his estate, and in 1976 purchased by a coin dealer in Los Angeles for $15,000.

His remarkable life rediscovered, the hammer soared beyond $100,000 and fell at $128,000, or roughly £96,500.

Picture: Nobel Prize medal £96,500 (Julien’s Auctions).