A Nobel Prize awarded to economist Simon Kuznets has sold for $390,848 at Nate D Sanders.

The auction closed on February 26.

Kuznets is best known for his conception of the Kuznets Curve, which shows that inequalities in developing economies first increase and then decrease.

Kuznets is best known for his conception of the Kuznets Curve

Kuznets explained his decision to sell his medal to the New York Times: "It's been sitting in a safety deposit box for what, 40-something years, and it's not doing anyone much good.

"I've got among other things, photos of the ceremony. I've even got tape recordings and that sort of thing, and I have memories of many years with my parents. I think those are more important to me than what is essentially a piece of jewelry."

The sale follows on from the recent auctions of Nobel prizes belonging to DNA scientists Crick and Watson, both of which made seven figure sums.

Richard Austin, Sotheby's head of books and manuscripts, told the Times: "Putting up Nobels is a fairly recent thing, and I'm not sure how long it's going to last.

"Everyone knows what Watson and Crick were famous for. Once you get to more specialized Nobels, it's more difficult."

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