Nobel lists metalcaster among accomplishments.

Alfred Nobel--inventor, entrepreneur, industrialist ... metalcaster? Best remembered for the prizes bearing his name, Alfred Nobel may have never reached such popularity had it not been for the metalcasting industry.

In 1837, Nobel's father went bankrupt and fled the family's home in Sweeden to escape creditors, leaving the family behind. He spent five years abroad trying to re-establish his position. During that time, he landed in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he started a metalcasting facility and engineering workshop.

The Nobel & Sons Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop was a success, allowing Nobel's father to bring the entire family to Russia. Once reunited, the children were educated through a mix of private tutoring and work in the metalcasting facility, The family business eventually did so well that Nobel was able to embark on a two-year study tour. He returned and briefly went back to work in the foundry.

The business grew into a large engineering works, responsible for a wide range of civil and military products typical of the period. Its specialty was underwater mines, tot which the firm won large orders during the Crimean War. The mid 1850s was the company's heyday when it employed more than 1,000 people.

After the war, however, orders dropped oil drastically. Bankruptcy followed in 1859, and Nobel's parents returned to Sweden. Nobel later returned to his homeland at the age of 30 and began his career as an inventor, which eventually led to the discovery of dynamite.

In the will he drafted in 1895, he called for the bulk of his fortune to be set aside as a fund for the award of five prizes awarded annually "to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind."

But had his family not had the money generated from Nobel & Sons Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop that financed his education, it could have been a different story.

Casting of the Nobel Medals

Further connecting Alfred Nobel with the metalcasting industry are the five medals awarded as part of the Nobel Prizes, which are metal castings, The medals for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, and literature are cast by Myntverket--the Swedish Mint. The peace medal is cast by Den Kongelige Mynt--the Royal Mint in Kongsberg, Norway.

Since 1902, the "Sweedish Medals" (those for physics. chemistry, and physiology or medicine) have featured a portrait of Nobel and the years of his birth and death inscribed in Latin. The peace medal features a different design for Nobel's lace.

The medals are made of 18-karat green gold and plated with 24-karat gold. Each medal weighs 200 g (0.45 lbs.) with a diameter of 66 mm (2.6 in.).