• Email Us: [email protected]
  • Contact Us: +1 718 874 1545
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Medical Market Report

  • Home
  • All Reports
  • About Us
  • Contact Us

“Mold Medallion” From Groundbreaking Penicillin Discovery Auctioned For $76,000, A New Record

November 4, 2024 by Deborah Bloomfield

In a record-breaking sale, a specimen of mold from the original experiments that led to Alexander Fleming’s world-changing discovery of penicillin has scooped $76,000 at auction. 

Many were excited for the sale, which was predicted to come in at closer to $50,000 earlier this year – but instead, the “mold medallion” set a world record at auction house Bonham’s History Of Science And Technology sale on October 23.

Advertisement

As a quick recap, Fleming’s discovery that changed the future of medicine all came down to an unexpected visitor while he was on holiday. Like all normal scientists, he had left home with a few Petri dishes of Staphylococcus bacteria lying around. When he returned, one had sprouted a bit of mold – and he noticed that the presence of the mold seemed to be preventing the growth of bacteria around it.

The chance encounter led to his discovery that it was the mold itself producing a kind of self-defense chemical that prevented bacterial growth, and he named the bug-busting substance penicillin. His work led to the creation of antibiotics, which have been preventing deaths from infection ever since.

It was a big day in medical history, and one that we can still remember thanks to several mold medallions that have survived from his early work. There have been a few sales to date, but this latest one scooped the largest amount of money at a staggering $76,000.

a petri dish containing mold behind penicillin discovery

Fleming’s inscription on the mold medallion case.

Image courtesy of Bonhams.

“Fleming’s discovery of penicillin changed the course of human history – for the first time furnishing medicine with the ability to completely cure many diseases and infections,” Darren Sutherland, Bonhams’ Senior Specialist of Fine Books and Manuscripts in New York, commented in a statement. 

Advertisement

“As part of one of the most important medical advancements which has saved an incalculable number of lives, it is no wonder that the current sample of Fleming’s wonder drug attracted interest from around the world and set a world auction record for a Fleming mold medallion.”

It’s been a big year for world-record auctions in scientific knickknacks. Back in July, Apex the stegosaurus went for an incredible $44.6 million at auction, topping the previous record holder – Stan the T. rex – by over $10 million. 

Some have argued that such treasures shouldn’t be going to the highest bidder in the interests of keeping relics within reach of academia, an argument that seems to be increasingly relevant for the sky-high prices of paleontology finds.

Advertisement

And if anyone out there is looking to score some mold of their own, may I direct you to the back of my cabinets?

Deborah Bloomfield
Deborah Bloomfield

Related posts:

  1. The value of software revenue may have finally stopped rising
  2. Rebound Relationships: What They Are And Why They Can Work Better Than You Think
  3. Why Did “Steam” Appear Over the Chicago River In Freezing Temperatures?
  4. Dolce & Gabanna Launch New $108 Dog Perfume – But Should You Spritz Your Pooch?

Source Link: “Mold Medallion” From Groundbreaking Penicillin Discovery Auctioned For $76,000, A New Record

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • IFLScience The Big Questions: Are We In The Anthropocene?
  • The Wildfire Paradox Affecting 440 Million People Has As Worrying A Solution As You’d Expect
  • AI May Infringe On Your Rights And Insult Your Dignity (Unless We Do Something Soon)
  • How Do You Study Cryptic Species? We’re Finally Lifting The Lid On The World’s Least Understood Mammals
  • Once-In-A-Decade Close Encounter With Hazardous Asteroid 2025 FA22 Approaches
  • With 229 Pairs, This Beautiful Animal Has The Highest Number Of Chromosomes Of Any Animal
  • “An Unimaginable Breakthrough”: Loudest-Ever Gravitational Wave Collision Proves Stephen Hawking Correct
  • Exciting Martian Mudstone Has Features That Might Be Considered Biosignatures
  • How Long Did Dinosaurs Live? “It’s A Big Surprise To People That Work On Them”
  • NASA’s Mysterious Announcement: “Clearest Sign Of Life That We’ve Ever Found On Mars”
  • New Brain Implant Can Decode Your Internal Monologue, Raising Fears Of Mind Reading
  • “Immediate, Sustained, And Devastating” Pain: The Most Venomous Mammal Packs An Extremely Nasty Sting
  • Domestic Cats Keeping Making Hybrids. That’s A Problem, And Yes – That Includes Some Pets
  • These Strange Little Lizards Have Toxic Green Blood, And No One Knows Exactly Why
  • How Does 2-In-1 Shampoo And Conditioner Work?
  • There Are 2-Billion-Year-Old “Millennium Rocks” In A Suburb, Hundreds Of Miles From Their Primeval Home
  • “That’s A Hellfire Missile Smacking Into That UFO”: Strange Video Emerges From US UAP Hearing
  • In 40,000 Years, Voyager 1 Will Have A Close Encounter With Gliese 445
  • Abnormally Long Gamma Ray Burst Unlike Anything We’ve Seen Before Baffles Astronomers
  • Critically Endangered Shark Meat Is Being Sold In US Stores For As Little As $2.99
  • Business
  • Health
  • News
  • Science
  • Technology
  • +1 718 874 1545
  • +91 78878 22626
  • [email protected]
Office Address
Prudour Pvt. Ltd. 420 Lexington Avenue Suite 300 New York City, NY 10170.

Powered by Prudour Network

Copyrights © 2025 · Medical Market Report. All Rights Reserved.

Go to mobile version