Nobel Prize medal

Each medal has a portrait of Alfred Nobel in left profile on the obverse. The medals for Chemistry, Literature, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine have identical obverses, showing the image of Nobel and the years of his birth and death. Nobel's portrait also appears on the obverse of the Peace Prize medal and the Economics Prize medal, but with a slightly different portrait.^[2] The names of the chemistry, medicine, literature and physics prize recipients are engraved on the reverse of the medal on a small plate. The names of the peace and economic prize recipients are engraved on the edges of their medals.^[2] The Chemistry, Literature, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine medals were designed by Erik Lindberg. The Peace prize medal was designed by Gustav Vigeland, and the Economics prize medal by Gunvor Svensson-Lundqvist.^[2]

The inaugural Nobel laureates of 1901 received a 'temporary' medal that was struck in a lesser metal than gold.^[2] The first medals were eventually struck in September 1902. The delay was due to the designs needing to be approved by each respective awarding institution. The medals were designed by the sculptor Erik Lindberg.^[2]

Between 1902 and 2010 the Nobel Prize medals were struck by the Myntverket, the Swedish royal mint, located in Eskilstuna. In 2011 the medals were made by Det Norske Myntverket in Kongsberg. The medals have been made by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna since 2012 with the exception of the peace prize medal which is made by the Det Norske Myntverket.^[2]

The medals for the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry are identical in design.^[2] They are given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.^[3] The reverse of the medal depicts the Goddess of Nature in the form of Isis as she emerges from clouds holding a cornucopia. The Genius of Science holds the veil which covers Nature's 'cold and austere face'.^[3] It was designed by Erik Lindberg and is manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna.^[3] It is inscribed "Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes" ("It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts") an adaptation of "Inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artes" from line 663 from book 6 of the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil.^[4] A plate below the figures is inscribed with the name of the recipient. The text "REG. ACAD. SCIENT. SUEC." denoting the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is inscribed on the reverse.^[3]

The medal for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is given by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute.^[4] The reverse of the medal depicts the 'Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap, collecting the water pouring out from a rock in order to quench a sick girl's thirst'.^[4] It is inscribed "Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes" ("It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts") an adaptation of "inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artes" from line 663 from book 6 of the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil.^[4] A plate below the figures is inscribed with the name of the recipient. The text "REG. UNIVERSITAS MED. CHIR. CAROL." denoting the Karolinska Institute is also inscribed on the reverse.^[4] It was designed by Erik Lindberg and is manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna.^[4]

The medal for the Nobel Prize in Literature is given by the Swedish Academy.^[5] The reverse of the medal depicts a ' ... young man sitting under a laurel tree who, enchanted, listens to and writes down the song of the Muse'.^[5] The 1923 recipient of the literature medal, W. B. Yeats wrote in his 1925 book The Bounty of Sweden that the medal was " ... charming, decorative, academic design, French in manner, a work of the nineties. It shows a young man listening to a Muse, who stands young and beautiful with a great lyre in her hand, and I think as I examine it, 'I was good-looking once like that young man, but my unpractised verse was full of infirmity, my Muse old as it were; and now I am old and rheumatic, and nothing to look at, but my Muse is young".^[2] It is inscribed "Inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes" ("It is beneficial to have improved (human) life through discovered arts") an adaptation of "inventas aut qui vitam excoluere per artes" from line 663 from book 6 of the Aeneid by the Roman poet Virgil.^[5] A plate below the figures is inscribed with the name of the recipient. The text "ACAD. SUEC." denoting the Swedish Academy is also inscribed on the reverse.^[5] It was designed by Erik Lindberg and is manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna.^[5]

The medal for the Nobel Peace Prize was designed by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland in 1901. Vigeland's profile sculpture of Alfred Nobel differs from Lindberg's. The dies for Vigeland's peace medal were made by Lindberg as Vigeland was not an engraver.^[6] The reverse of the medal features three men in a 'fraternal bond' and the inscription 'Pro pace et fraternitate gentium' ("For the peace and brotherhood of men").^[6] The edge of the medal is inscribed with the year of its awarding, with the name of its recipient and "Prix Nobel de la Paix".^[6]

The medal for the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was designed by Gunvor Svensson-Lundqvist in 1968.^[7] The obverse of the medal depicts Alfred Nobel and the words "Sveriges Riksbank till Alfred Nobels Minne 1968" ("The Sveriges Riksbank, in memory of Alfred Nobel, 1968") with the symbol of the Sveriges Riksbank, the horn of plenty, displayed below. The name of the recipient is inscribed on the edge of the medal.^[7] The reverse features the emblem of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the North Star, in a design from 1815.^[7] "Kungliga Vetenskaps Akademien" ("The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences") is inscribed around the edge of the star.^[7] It is the only medal without a quotation on its reverse. Since 2012 the economics medal has been manufactured by Svenska Medalj in Eskilstuna.^[7]

The medals are struck in 18 carat green gold plated with 24 carat gold. All medals made before 1980 were struck in 23 carat gold. The weight of each medal varies with the value of gold, but averages about 175 grams (0.386 lb) for each medal, with the exception of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences which weighs 185g. The diameter is 66 millimetres (2.6 in) and the thickness varies between 5.2 millimetres (0.20 in) and 2.4 millimetres (0.094 in).^[2]

During World War II, the medals of German scientists Max von Laue and James Franck were sent to Copenhagen for safekeeping. When Germany invaded Denmark, Hungarian chemist (and Nobel laureate himself) George de Hevesy dissolved them in aqua regia (nitro-hydrochloric acid), to prevent confiscation by Nazi Germany and to prevent legal problems for the holders. After the war, the gold was recovered from solution, and the medals re-cast.^[8]

The Nobel Institute places no restrictions on the ownership of the medal and the accompanying diploma and prize money once it has been awarded to the recipient.^[9] If the recipient chooses not to keep them, they may be sold, donated, or given away.^[6] The dedicatee cannot be changed and the prizes cannot be revoked.^[9]