James Watson’s Nobel Prize Auctioned for $3 Million

Last year Francis Crick’s Nobel Prize was auctioned for $2.27 million. This year, those who are interested and missed last year’s auction can try their luck with James Watson’s Nobel Prize he won in 1962. James Watson won the Nobel along with Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their research involving the double helix DNA structure.

The Nobel Prize will be at a New York auction house at Christie’s, on December 4. The prestigious award will cost approximately $3.5 million, less than last year’s letter written by Crick explaining to his son the team’s DNA discovery. The letter was sold for $6 million.

Christie’s representatives said that this is the first time a Nobel Prize has been offered for auction b a living winner of the award. The auction house said that Watson will donate a part of the money to

“to continue his philanthropic legacy of supporting scientific research, academic institutions and other charitable causes.”

Their discovery of the double helix of the DNA is considered one of the most important moments in modern science, paving the way to a new science of molecular biology, which lead to great advances in the medical field.
The Nobel Prize given to Watson is a 24 karat gold medal, minted at the Swedish National Mint. Watson, 86, is a chancellor emeritus at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Springs, New York.

Watson retires from Cold Springs Harbor laboratory in 2007 after racist remarks, saying that the people of African descent are not as intelligent as Europeans. He later apologized for his remarks and added that there are no scientific proofs for his claims.

Some of Watson’s most recent books include “Molecular Biology of the Gene”, “Recombinant DNA” and “Molecular Biology of the Cell.”

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Anne-Marie Jackson

Anna grew up on a steady diet of 20th century literature, science-fiction movies and Viking lore. Unsurprisingly she turned into a technology geek with an inclination for history & fantasy.