Niels Bohr’s Gold Medals

Gold Medals, Atoms and Quantum Mechanics

If you’re a collector of coins and medals that are not only rare but also represent a little piece of world history, there’s much for you to look forward to at the upcoming coin auction. This includes two gold medals awarded to Danish physicist and Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr.

One is a unique 18 ct. gold medal, which Bohr was awarded by the Ford Foundation in 1957 for his outstanding work in peaceful nuclear research for the benefit of mankind. He was the first recipient of the Atoms for Peace Gold Medal, which was awarded ten times from 1957–1969. The other is an extremely rare Medal of Merit in gold, which was awarded just four times during the long reign of Christian X, Bohr being one of the recipients.

Danish coins are always a good place to start for new and seasoned collectors alike, and the auction offers a rich selection spanning Danish coin history. It includes coins from the late Viking Age on which, perhaps as a manifestation of a certain nationalism, the customary Latin inscription has been replaced by runes.

There are, in addition, the more alternative coins from Freetown Christiania, which has been producing its own unit of currency, the Christiania coin, also known as “en fed” (a joint), since the 1970s. The Christiania coin is today considered one of the most important Danish numismatic innovations among coin collectors – not least for its high level of artistry and the use of various gold, silver and copper alloys.