Nobel Prize: Composition of medals and diplomas

Each Nobel Prize winner receives a medal, a personal diploma, and a cash prize of 1.07 million euros.

Since 1980, the medals have been crafted from 18-karat recycled gold, weighing approximately 175 grams. This differs from the pre-1980 medals, which were 23-karat gold and weighed about 200 grams. The economic sciences medal is slightly heavier at 185 grams. While the front of all medals features a portrait of Alfred Nobel, the designs on the back vary by category. The Peace Prize medal bears the inscription ‘Pro pace et fraternitate gentium’, while the economic sciences medal is blank on the reverse side.

The diplomas are unique works of art produced on custom handmade paper. Each category uses a specific colored leather cover: dark blue for physics, red for chemistry, burgundy for medicine, dark brown for economic sciences, and blue for literature. The literature diploma is notably written on parchment using techniques similar to medieval book illustrators. While artistic designs change over time, the text consistently follows patterns in Swedish and Norwegian.