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Physicist puts Nobel prize medal up for auction Physicist puts Nobel prize medal up for auction
(about 1 hour later)
A retired experimental physicist has put his 1988 Nobel prize medal up for auction with a reserve price of $325,000 (£211,000).A retired experimental physicist has put his 1988 Nobel prize medal up for auction with a reserve price of $325,000 (£211,000).
“The prize has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for the last 20 years,” said 92-year-old Leon Lederman, who lives in eastern Idaho. “I made a decision to sell it. It seems like a logical thing to do.”“The prize has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for the last 20 years,” said 92-year-old Leon Lederman, who lives in eastern Idaho. “I made a decision to sell it. It seems like a logical thing to do.”
The online auction being conducted by Nate D Sanders Auctions closes on Thursday evening, but only when the final bid has stood unchallenged for half an hour.The online auction being conducted by Nate D Sanders Auctions closes on Thursday evening, but only when the final bid has stood unchallenged for half an hour.
Lederman won the Nobel prize for physics with two other scientists for discovering a subatomic particle called the muon neutrino. He used the prize money to buy a log cabin near the tiny town of Driggs in eastern Idaho as a vacation retreat.Lederman won the Nobel prize for physics with two other scientists for discovering a subatomic particle called the muon neutrino. He used the prize money to buy a log cabin near the tiny town of Driggs in eastern Idaho as a vacation retreat.
Lederman retired from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago in June 2012 and moved to Idaho. “No one is more respected in the Fermilab community than Leon Lederman,” said Christopher T Hill, a theoretical physicist. “He could easily have won three or four Nobel prizes.”Lederman retired from Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois, near Chicago in June 2012 and moved to Idaho. “No one is more respected in the Fermilab community than Leon Lederman,” said Christopher T Hill, a theoretical physicist. “He could easily have won three or four Nobel prizes.”
The auction house has sold two other Nobel prize medals, both earlier this year: the Nobel prize for economics won by Simon Kuznets in 1971 and the Nobel prize for chemistry won by Heinrich Wieland in 1927. Both those medals were offered for auction by descendants and sold for almost $400,000.The auction house has sold two other Nobel prize medals, both earlier this year: the Nobel prize for economics won by Simon Kuznets in 1971 and the Nobel prize for chemistry won by Heinrich Wieland in 1927. Both those medals were offered for auction by descendants and sold for almost $400,000.
Laura Yntema, auction manager for Nate D Sanders Auctions, said research by the company found Lederman’s medal was only the second to be auctioned while the winner was still alive.Laura Yntema, auction manager for Nate D Sanders Auctions, said research by the company found Lederman’s medal was only the second to be auctioned while the winner was still alive.
Yntema said: “It would just be an honor to own it. What these people have accomplished, it’s mindboggling how they advanced society.” Yntema said: “It would just be an honour to own it. What these people have accomplished, it’s mindboggling how they advanced society.”
Lederman’s wife, Ellen, said they had enjoyed having the medal. “It’s really a wonderful thing. But it’s not really anything we need in our log cabin in Driggs, Idaho,” she said. Lederman’s wife, Ellen, said they had enjoyed having the medal. “It’s really a wonderful thing. But it’s not really anything we need in our log cabin,” she said.
For Leon Lederman, at 92, the details of the work that went into discovering a subatomic particle have become hazy over the decades. “I don’t have any real stories to tell about it,” he said. “I sit on my deck and look at the mountains.”For Leon Lederman, at 92, the details of the work that went into discovering a subatomic particle have become hazy over the decades. “I don’t have any real stories to tell about it,” he said. “I sit on my deck and look at the mountains.”