Medals, trophies, awards and other rare objects collected by a Nobel Prize-winning physicist have been sold.
Items owned by the late Professor Peter Higgs, who predicted the “God particle”, fetched nearly £40,000 at auction in Edinburgh after bids from around the world.
The collection included his Nobel Prize Diploma Citation, his Royal Society of Edinburgh Medal and 2011 Edinburgh Award as well as personal objects such as his academic gown and even his Rubik’s Cube.
Prof Higgs was a researcher at the University of Edinburgh in 1964 when he predicted a particle now recognised as fundamental to the creation of the universe and known as the Higgs Boson.
He shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics after his work was confirmed by experiments at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Higgs died aged 94 last year at his home in Edinburgh, leaving an array of awards recognising his achievements and personal objects that took pride of place in his study.
A total of 20 lots from the estate of the late physicist went under the hammer at Bonhams in Edinburgh, where they made a total of £37,150, following bids from as far as China and the US.
The highlight of the sale was Higgs’ Nobel Prize Diploma Citation, awarded on 10 December 2013, sold to a collector in Europe for £23,000.
The 2011 Edinburgh Award, including the silver plated and gilded covered cup and presentation scroll in recognition of Higgs’ “outstanding contribution” to the city topped £1000 and the Edinburgh Silver Medal he collected in 2013 fetched £500.
The unique “Higgs Medal” awarded to the physicist by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2012 made £768 and the Scottish Science Award presented by the Saltire Society in 1990 was snapped up for £250.
Unique personal objects offered included cufflinks, pin badges, Nobel Prize shirt studs, ties and an academic gown, which made £1150, while a collection of games including Higgs’ own Rubik’s Cube made £250.
Charles Graham-Campbell, Director of Bonhams Scotland, said: “Professor Higgs created an incredible legacy in the scientific field. His pioneering achievements were recognised and celebrated around the world.
“We were delighted to be able to bring highlights from his collection to auction, ranging from medals to personal items.
“There was global interest but we also heard some lovely stories from people who knew Higgs and attended his lectures.”
Higgs fell in love with Edinburgh after hitchhiking to the city en route to the Highlands in 1949. He returned to undertake a two year post-doctorate degree at the University of Edinburgh in 1954 and in 1960 he landed a lectureship in mathematical physics.
In 1964, he proposed a mechanism to explain why the most basic building blocks of the universe have mass.
It predicted the existence of a Higgs particle, the discovery of which was claimed at the Large Hadron Collider 48 years later.
He received numerous awards including the Nobel Prize. Later, as Emeritus Professor of Physics at Edinburgh, he would admit celebrity status changed his life.
Higgs lived in the Scottish capital for over 60 years and received the Freedom of the City of Edinburgh in 2014.
His work, which diverged from the orthodox theories of the 1950’s and 60’s, remains the basis of fundamental physics today.
