The Nobel Foundation, which awards the coveted Nobel Prize to five different categories, lacks rules on the selling of the medals it has given to its awardees. This loophole allowed DNA Double Helix co-discoverer James Watson to sell the Nobel medal for Physiology and Medicine he got in 1962.

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The medal was sold for US$4.75 million on Friday at Christie's auction house in New York. In auctioning the medal to the highest bidder, who remains unidentified, Watson broke two records.

First, he became the only living scientist to sell his Nobel Prize through an auction. Second, the selling prize was higher than the $2.7 million that the family of Francis Crick received when they sold the Nobel medal he won in 1962, together with Watson and Maurice Wilkins.

There were forecasts that Watson's medal would fetch between US$2.5 million and US$3.5 million. Watson had said he would be happy to exceed Crick's US$2.7 million selling price.

The 85-year-old scientist is speculated to be financially hard up, that's why he decided to sell the medal. He had joked to Financial Times that he would also buy a David Hockney painting with the money.

Watson, prior to the auction, stated he wants to partially donate the proceeds of the sale to research institutions and universities he was connected with, specifically the Clare College Cambridge, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and University of Chicago.

He also sees the sale of the medal as a chance to redeem his name sullied by his suspension in 2007 as chancellor of Cold Spring over a racist remark that Watson made about blacks not being as intelligent as white people. He eventually apologized for that statement.

More than the 23 carat gold that the medal is made of, the prestige that goes with a Nobel Prize is believed to be the reason why Watson's medal sold for $4.75 million.

ChinaTopix researched the website of the Nobel Foundation to check its rules on the selling of the prize, but it did not have any, although the foundation could eventually come up with one, following the sale of two medals.

Tagsjames watson, nobel prize, dna double helix, christie's auction