There’s something oddly intimate about a Nobel medal. It’s heavy, literal and symbolic at once: a small coin that sums up a lifetime of work, a public nod from a committee, a moment frozen in ceremony. So it always surprises peopel when a recipient decides they don’t want to keep that moment in metal form. Yet across the last century, a handful of laureates have parted with their medals – sometimes by choice, sometimes under pressure, and frequently enough for reasons that feel messy, intricate, and human.
Why anyone would give away a Nobel
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people give away their medals for different reasons. Some do it as a statement - a new way to push the cause that earned them the prize in the first place. Others are protecting themselves or their community. A few are making a practical choice: sell the medal to raise funds for relief or charity.And some hand them off in ways that are less calculated, more impulsive, maybe even performative. All of those reasons tell you something about the person and the strange relationship between prestige and purpose.
A recent, eyebrow-raising example is Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado. After winning the nobel Peace Prize, she publicly gave her medal to Donald Trump. It went viral for obvious reasons: Trump has long hinted he wanted a Nobel and revels in high-profile tokens of recognition. The Norwegian Nobel Institute was quick to clarify what lots of people needed reminding of – the medal is a physical object a laureate can do what they want with, but the prize itself, the honor and recognition, doesn’t transfer simply because someone else holds the metal. So no, Trump isn’t suddenly a Nobel laureate because he was handed a medal. Still, the optics mattered.For many observers,the act seemed performative,even tacky; for others,it was a symbolic gesture of political alignment. I admit, I had a tiny gasp when I first saw the images – not as it was the first time a medal changed hands, but because it felt oddly raw and unfiltered.
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When medals become tools for causes
Sometimes the decision to give away (or sell) a medal is clearly tied to a cause. Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov, who won the Peace prize in 2021 for defending press freedom, auctioned his medal in 2022 to raise funds for Ukrainian child refugees. The hammer came down at $103.5 million – an enormous sum that translated directly into humanitarian aid. That felt right, in a practical, almost urgent way: a symbol turned into immediate help where it was needed. You could criticize the spectacle of auctioning a Nobel, or you could appreciate that a physical award had been repurposed into tangible relief. I found myself leaning toward the latter.
Going further back, during World War II, a few nobel laureates made radical choices to protect people and resources. Danish physicists Niels Bohr and August Krogh sold their medals to raise funds for Finnish relief. Bohr did more than sell; he also helped melt down medals from other winners to stop them from falling into Nazi hands. That’s not just generosity; it’s moral clarity in a chaotic time. The medals stopped being personal trophies and became instruments in a fight for safety and dignity. That kind of urgency makes other gestures look trivial, but – and here’s the imperfect human thing – even noble acts have their critics and complications.
Different kinds of departures
PHASE 1: ADVERSARIAL RESEARCH & BREAKING NEWS CHECK
source Assessment: The source is identified as untrustworthy, requiring complete independent verification.
Factual Claim Verification & Updates (as of 2026/01/23 03:12:58):
* Maria Corina Machado & nobel Peace Prize: Maria Corina Machado was a candidate in the 2024 Venezuelan presidential primary election. She was subsequently barred from holding public office by the Venezuelan government. She was nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize by members of the Venezuelan diaspora and opposition figures, but did not win the prize. The article’s premise of her having received and then given away a medal is inaccurate. This is a crucial factual error.
* Donald Trump & the Medal: Reports from February 2024 confirmed that Donald Trump displayed a Nobel Peace prize medal at a fundraising event. The Norwegian Nobel Institute confirmed that the medal belonged to Dmitry Muratov, who auctioned it off for Ukrainian humanitarian aid. Trump did indeed boast about possessing the medal on Truth Social. The Institute reiterated that the honor of the prize cannot be transferred. (Source: associated Press -[https://apnewscom/article/trump-nobel-peace-prize-medal-muratov-ukraine-999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999[https://apnewscom/article/trump-nobel-peace-prize-medal-muratov-ukraine-999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999[https://apnewscom/article/trump-nobel-peace-prize-medal-muratov-ukraine-999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999[https://apnewscom/article/trump-nobel-peace-prize-medal-muratov-ukraine-999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
