The historic 1979 Nobel Prize gold medal for chemistry awarded to Professor Georg Wittig (1897 - 1987) of Germany will be offered by HeritageAuctions (www.HA.com) on October 19, 2016 as part of Heritage's two-day Historical Manuscripts Grand Format Auction. Four other gold medals awardedover the years to Prof. Wittig are also being offered together with the large, 22 carat Nobel Prize medal.

"Dr. Georg Wittig was a distinguished researcher, author and educator who received the 1972 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his 1954 discovery ofwhat is now known as The Wittig Reaction, a process of regulating the regrouping of atoms in a molecule," said Cristiano Bierrenbach, Heritage'sExecutive Vice President of International Numismatics.

"Professor Wittig's work along with Nobel Prize co-recipient Herbert C. Brown made it possible to mass produce hundreds of important drugs, suchas the arthritis medicine hydrocortisone, as well as mass produce industrial chemicals that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive," Bierrenbachexplained.

The Nobel Prize medal, designed by Swedish artist Erik Lindberg, measures 6.5 centimeters in diameter (approximately 2.5 inches) and weighs 204.0grams (approximately 7.2 ounces). Struck in 22 carat gold, it features female allegories of Science and Nature, with Wittig's name and the yearof the award engraved beneath.

The front side features the likeness of Alfred Nobel with the dates of his birth, 1833, and death, 1896, in Roman numerals. The medal is housed inthe original presentation case received by Prof. Wittig in 1972.

The four other medals received by Prof. Wittig and accompanying the Nobel Prize medal in the auction are:

Full descriptions of all the medals are available online at: https://historical.ha.com/itm/miscellaneous/georg-wittig- nobel-prize-medal-in- chemistry-received-in- 1979-together- with-four- additional-medals/p/6165-67001.s?ic5=CatalogHome-FeaturedItems-071515 .

"Most of Dr. Wittig's scientific work, including that which won him the Nobel Prize, was conducted during his years at the University ofTübingen. He was known as a meticulous teacher who set very high standards for his students, and he established a productive research group of young,promising scientists," said Bierrenbach.

Prof. Wittig died on August 26, 1987, just a few weeks after his 90th birthday.

For additional information about the medal or other items offered in this auction, contact Heritage Auctions at (877) 437-4824 or visit online atwww.HA.com.