101512 | GERMANY & JAPAN. Paul Ehrlich & Sahachiro Hata bronze Medal.

101512  |  GERMANY & JAPAN. Paul Ehrlich & Sahachiro Hata bronze Medal. Issued circa 1912. Commemorating their breakthrough research on the treatment of syphilis (65mm, 117.51 g, 12h). By F. Kounitzky.

 

Half length busts of Ehrlich, holding test tube, and Nata, reading through their notes; =EHRLICH–HATA= in exergue / PER ASPERA AD ASTRA (through the hardships to the stars), nude male fighting back serpentine anthropomorphic monster (representing syphilis) clutching human skull; other men in background wracked with madness. Edge: Plain.

 

Brettauer –; Wurzbach 1823. Choice Mint State. Light chocolate brown surfaces, with great relief. Very interesting medical type. Compare to a similar example in the Fall 2021 Stack's Bowers Hong Kong sale, which realized a total of $1,320 (lot 29563).

 

Paul Ehrlich was an important German physician and scientist who contributed greatly to the field of immunology. Awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in 1908 for the standardization of manufacturing anti-diphtheria serum, he actually garnered even more fame through a discovery with fellow researcher, Sahachiro Hata from Japan. This breakthrough involved arsphenamine (also known as Salvarsan or compound 606) and was the first effective treatment for syphilis. This incredibly important treatment further led to Ehrlich's concept of the "magic bullet" (i.e., the idea that it would be possible to kill a bacteria or disease within one's body by using a targeted treatment without harming the body itself), and also served as the foundation to the concept of chemotherapy. The contributions of Ehrlich and Sata cannot be understated, especially when considering the importance of public health and the medical researchers tasked with maintaining it.

 

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