
Appraisal: 1944 Joseph Erlanger's Nobel Prize & Diploma
Clip: Season 29 Episode 15 | 3m 51sVideo has Closed Captions
Appraisal: 1944 Joseph Erlanger's Nobel Prize & Diploma
Watch James Supp appraise a 1944 Joseph Erlanger's Nobel Prize & diploma in Maryland Zoo, Hour 3.
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Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.

Appraisal: 1944 Joseph Erlanger's Nobel Prize & Diploma
Clip: Season 29 Episode 15 | 3m 51sVideo has Closed Captions
Watch James Supp appraise a 1944 Joseph Erlanger's Nobel Prize & diploma in Maryland Zoo, Hour 3.
Problems with Closed Captions? Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipGUEST: This is my grandfather's Nobel Prize medal.
Which he won in 1944 in physiology, and this is the Nobel Institute diploma that is presented along with it.
APPRAISER: And do you remember seeing this growing up or your family talking about it?
GUEST: I knew my grandpa won a Nobel Prize.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And I saw the medal once or twice, but he was a very humble person.
APPRAISER: Yeah?
GUEST: He didn't go out and show this off, and nor did any of the rest of us.
When I was a really little kid, uh, my family would talk about the Nobel Prize, and I thought it was a "no bell" prize.
(both laughing) Until somebody set me straight.
APPRAISER: (laughs) Yeah.
GUEST: I knew him growing up because when he-- I was 14 when he passed away, and we would see him every week for dinners and so on, and he was a, a son of immigrants.
He was the first person in his family to go to college.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: He was in the third graduating class of Johns Hopkins Medical School, which is right here, and he was a full professor within about three years... APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...because his, his brilliance was already recognized.
APPRAISER: Can you tell us what your grandfather, Joseph Erlanger, won the Nobel Prize for?
GUEST: He did what is fundamental work underlying neurophysiology today.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: Which is the electrical conduction of nerve fibers and differentiation of different nerve fibers.
And it was very quickly recognized as breakthrough.
He needed to have a cathode-ray tube, and the company that made cathode-ray tubes refused to sell him one because they were afraid, afraid of industrial espionage.
So, he built one.
APPRAISER: Yeah.
GUEST: This contraption that he had in his basement lab.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And if he got one or good two tracings... APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...'cause they were doing nerve tracings-- per day, they felt it was a good thing.
APPRAISER: Really groundbreaking stuff.
This is his Nobel Prize.
GUEST: Correct.
APPRAISER: It's the most prestigious award in every field.
You've got physics, physiology and medicine.
Chemistry, literature, peace, and recently, economic science.
GUEST: Oh.
APPRAISER: And they're given out almost every year since 1901.
How you get awarded a Nobel Prize is, for the case of medicine, a committee from the Karolinska Institute would get together, and they would choose and nominate who would get the award.
You've got to impress every professor at one of the most prestigious institutes in the world and show them that your contribution is important to mankind.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And not only do you get the lovely calligraphy, you get the medal, you also get a cash prize, too.
GUEST: Yes.
And, of course, it was split APPRAISER: Mmm-hmm.
GUEST: because this was a joint prize.
APPRAISER: Right.
GUEST: University professors don't earn a lot of money... APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: ...but they're very frugal, so they kept it invested, and it came down through to us.
APPRAISER: Mm-hmm.
GUEST: And, actually, for me, my grandfather's Nobel Prize money paid my way through the University of Chicago.
APPRAISER: That's awesome.
GUEST: (chuckling): Yeah.
APPRAISER: That's fantastic.
This certificate, it is beautiful calligraphy signed by all the nominating members, showing the joint award to Herbert Gasser and your grandfather, Joseph Erlanger, for their hard work.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: And then, we look at the medal itself.
These are pretty special.
GUEST: (laughing): Yeah.
APPRAISER: It is solid gold.
And there are other medals given out; there are bronze medals, there are ones that are gilt that have just a thin layer of gold on top.
And to the awardees, they get their name engraved on the back and the date.
And at the very bottom of it here, it says "gold" in Swedish, "1944."
GUEST: Ah.
APPRAISER: Everything about this is exactly what the collector of these items want to see.
Even though Erlanger and Gasser are not household names like Einstein, it's still an important name in the field of neuroscience.
I would give an auction estimate for the entire package of $150,000 to $200,000.
GUEST: (exhales, laughs): Wow.
I know you're not supposed to say that, but wow, that's just amazing.
We are very proud and honored as a family to have this and to have this legacy.
Appraisal: 1998 Magic: The Gathering "Dark Ritual" Trading Card Art
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 11s | Appraisal: 1998 Magic: The Gathering "Dark Ritual" Trading Card Art (2m 11s)
Appraisal: Silk Wedding Dress, ca. 1895
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 1m 3s | Appraisal: Silk Wedding Dress, ca. 1895 (1m 3s)
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Preview: S29 Ep15 | 30s | Preview: Maryland Zoo, Hour 3 (30s)
Appraisal: 1864 Bailey & Co. Silver Presentation Pitcher
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 54s | Appraisal: 1864 Bailey & Co. Silver Presentation Pitcher (2m 54s)
Appraisal: 1938 Martin Style B Mandola
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 1m 27s | Appraisal: 1938 Martin Style B Mandola (1m 27s)
Appraisal: 1949 Charles Loloma Pot
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 34s | Appraisal: 1949 Charles Loloma Pot (2m 34s)
Appraisal: 1952 Albert Einstein-signed Josef Scharl Sketch
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 35s | Appraisal: 1952 Albert Einstein-signed Josef Scharl Sketch (2m 35s)
Appraisal: 1959 Jerome Kirk Mobile
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 3m 3s | Appraisal: 1959 Jerome Kirk Mobile (3m 3s)
Appraisal: 1973 Faith Ringgold "Love Poem" Watercolors
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 3m 1s | Appraisal: 1973 Faith Ringgold "Love Poem" Watercolors (3m 1s)
Appraisal: 1974 Ezra Jack Keats Collection
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 3m 20s | Appraisal: 1974 Ezra Jack Keats Collection (3m 20s)
Appraisal: 1975 & 1979 Elizabeth Catlett Prints
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 3m 25s | Appraisal: 1975 & 1979 Elizabeth Catlett Prints (3m 25s)
Appraisal: Cartier Diamond Dress Clips, ca. 1930
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 3m 41s | Appraisal: Cartier Diamond Dress Clips, ca. 1930 (3m 41s)
Appraisal: Chinese Famille Noire Porcelain Vase, ca. 1890
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 49s | Appraisal: Chinese Famille Noire Porcelain Vase, ca. 1890 (2m 49s)
Appraisal: George S. Patton's Gold WWI Trench Watch
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 44s | Appraisal: George S. Patton's Gold WWI Trench Watch (2m 44s)
Appraisal: Ming Dynasty Gray Jade Dragon Plaque
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 8s | Appraisal: Ming Dynasty Gray Jade Dragon Plaque (2m 8s)
Appraisal: Shaker-signed Box with Note, ca. 1850
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Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 36s | Shaker-signed Box with Note, ca. 1850 (2m 36s)
Appraisal: Tiffany & Co. Carriage Clock with Case, ca. 1890
Video has Closed Captions
Clip: S29 Ep15 | 2m 36s | Appraisal: Tiffany & Co. Carriage Clock with Case, ca. 1890 (2m 36s)
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Funding for ANTIQUES ROADSHOW is provided by Ancestry and American Cruise Lines. Additional funding is provided by public television viewers.