The 1945 Nobel Prize for the Discovery of Penicillin Can Now Be Yours for $2 Million

The ultimate collectible for humanitarians and scholars alike is up for grabs.

The 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of penicillin, awarded to chemist Ernst Chain, was just listed at M.S. Rau. The German-British scientist created the antibiotic that has saved an estimated 200 million lives since being released in 1944. His 23-karat gold prize for weighs a hefty 200 grams, and comes encased in its original protective box alongside the Nobel Diploma and a copy of his acceptance speech. A visage of Alfred Noble is featured on the front of Chain’s medal and the “Genius of Medicine” reading a book while offering water to a patient accents its reverse.  All of that can be yours for a cool $1.95 million.

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The Nobel Prize was established in Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel’s 1895 will a year before his death. The inventor of dynamite reportedly left about $265 million dollars to fund the prizes, officially launched in 1901, meant to honor men and women from around the world for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and fostering peace. Chain was awarded the prize 44 years after its inception, but the genesis of penicillin’s discovery dates back to 1929 when Sir Alexander Fleming first observed its antibacterial potential.

Fleming’s findings went unpursued until 1939 when Chain, in collaboration with Howard Florey, “discerned the active antimicrobial component of the substance,” the auction house’s website claims. A year later, Chain took up methods to purify and amplify penicillin. By 1944, the life-saving drug was being disseminated to the Allied forces fighting WWII as it began to create an even larger global impact.

In addition to the medal, you’ll receive the hand-written Nobel Diploma featuring Chain’s name and signatures of the 1945 Nobel Institute members. The scientist’s speech, which in which he remembers the personal loss of his mother and sister in the Holocaust and underscores the societal implications of scientific advancements, also comes with the set. Though it is a cherished heirloom, Chain’s Nobel Prize is not the first to come to market. The 1965 physics medal sold for nearly $1 million at auction, while biologist James Watson’s 1962 Nobel Prize in Medicine sold for over $5.3 million in 2014.

To adopt Chain’s esteemed Nobel Prize as your own, contact M.S. Rau for more details.

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