JOHN R. MOTT NOBEL PEACE PRIZE MEDAL

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V22 2019 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 24, June 16, 2019, Article 29

Another gold Nobel Prize medal is coming up for sale. Sotheby's is offering the medal awarded to YMCA Leader John R. Mott in 1946. -Editor

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE MEDAL
Nobel Peace Prize Medal Awarded in 1946 to YMCA Leader John R. Mott (1865-1955) for "His Creation of a Peace-Promoting Religious Brotherhood Across National Boundaries."

Nobel Prize Medal, struck in solid 23 carat gold, designed by Gustav Vigeland and manufactured by the Royal Norwegian Mint (Det Norske Myntverket) in Kongsberg, Norway. Obverse with bust of Alfred Nobel left, legend "ALFR• NOBEL • NAT • MDCCCXXXIII • OB • MDCCCXCVI", in field, right "MODEL • G • VIGELAND". Reverse with three standing male figures, arms united in brotherhood, legend "PRO • PACE • ET • FRATERNITATE • GENTIUM". Edge inscribed "PRIX • NOBEL • DE • LA • PAIX", and "JOHN R MOTT 1946". Weight, approx. 182 grams, 66 mm in diameter, housed in the original green morocco case. [With:] accompanying diploma (515 x 421 mm) on paper, Norweigan text partially engraved and completed in manuscript, engraved decorative border incorporating the lion of Norway with silver ax in hand, signed by the five representatives of the Norwegian Nobel Prize Committee, Oslo, 10 December 1946.

One of the most influential Protestant figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Mott was the long-serving leader of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), and worked to establish understanding and reconciliation among religions. He was a pioneer in the struggle against racial discrimination and for mutual respect and understanding among people of different faiths, a critic of the oppression of colonized peoples, and took part in both World Wars in relief work for prisoners of war. A founder of the Christian Ecumenical movement, he devoted his life to missionary activities and ecumenical work.

The Nobel Prize is widely considered to be the most prestigious award conferred in the fields of Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Peace, with the most famous of these being the Peace prize. According to Alfred Nobel's will, the Peace Prize was awarded to "…the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." It has only been awarded 99 times since the establishment of the prizes in 1895, compared to other categories such as Physics, which has been awarded 112 times thus far. Some of the best-known Peace Prize laureates include Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, the 14th Dalai Lama, Elie Weisel, and Malala Yousafzai.

Only four other Nobel Peace Prizes have been offered at auction: Sir Randall Cremer, 1903 (Sotheby's London, 1985), Carlos Saavedra Lamas, 1936 (Stacks Bowers, 2014), Auguste Beernaert, 1909 (Christie's, 2015), and Alfonso Garcia Robles, 1982 (Christie's, 2017).

It's hard to imagine a more important or prestigeous medal. As noted in the lot description, these rarely come up for sale. Theestimate is $300,000 = $500,000. -Editor