Alan Hodgkin's Nobel Prize sells for $795,500

A Nobel Prize awarded to physiologist Alan Lloyd Hodgkin in 1963 has sold for $795,614.

The online sale at Nate D Sanders closed on October 29.  

Hodgkins Nate Nobel
Hodgkin was a pioneer in the field of physiology

Hogkin received the accolade for his pioneering work on the human central nervous system. Most notably he uncovered the role of action potentials within the nerves, allowing for better treatment of diseases like Parkinson's.

The medal is one of a number of Nobel Prizes sold for impressive sums at auction in recent years, indicating a growing demand.

Leon Lederman's 1988 award made $765,002 at Nate D Sanders in 2015. Hans Krebs' 1953 medal sold for ?�275,000 ($430,476) at Sotheby's in 2014.

The record for a Nobel Prize remains $4.7m, set in 2014, for the medal awarded to DNA scientist James Watson.

Nate D Sanders explained to Paul Fraser Collectibles: "Although there have been a handful of Nobel sales through the years, we believe it was the sales of Francis Crick's Nobel in 2013 and James Watson's in 2014 that ushered in a heightened interest among collectors for Nobel Prizes. 

"We auctioned our first Nobel, Simon Kuznets' Nobel in Economics, in February of this year with a realized price of $390,848, which exceeded most pre-auctions predictions. 

"We've seen a subsequent upward trend in prices realized."

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