Lederman sells Nobel

In an online auction that concluded on 28 May, Leon Lederman’s Nobel medal sold for $765 002. Lederman shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the muon neutrino. Born in 1922, Lederman is also known for his role in discovering the bottom quark, working on behalf of public education in science, and dubbing the Higgs boson the “God particle.” In an online auction that concluded on 28 May, Leon Lederman’s Nobel medal sold for $765 002. Lederman shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the muon neutrino. Born in 1922, Lederman is also known for his role in discovering the bottom quark, working on behalf of public education in science, and dubbing the Higgs boson the “God particle.”

According to Sam Heller, a spokesman for Nate D. Sanders Auctions in Los Angeles, Lederman’s medal fetched the fourth-highest price among just 10 Nobel medals ever sold. The only other medal sold by a living laureate was that of James Watson, codiscoverer of the structure of DNA; it drew nearly $4.8 million last year. Lederman’s medal (see photo) is made of 18-kt gold and plated in 24-kt gold.

In a statement delivered via Fermilab, where Lederman served as director from 1979 to 1989, he and his wife, Ellen, wrote, “We feel it is time for someone else to have a chance to own this piece of history. We hope this auction raises the awareness of physics research in the United States and around the world.”