Does the sale of a Nobel Prize gold medal by a living recipient trivialize what the medal represents?

For the first time, a living recipient of a Nobel Prize has sold the gold medal that accompanies the prize money. 

James Watson, who along with Francis Crick elucidated the double-helix structure of DNA in the 1950s, put up for auction the medal he was awarded in 1962 for his work in the field of physiology or medicine. In a sale at Christie’s in New York on December 4, it was sold for $4.75 million.

According to news reports, Watson, 85, says he intends to use part of the money to fund projects at scientific research institutions where he has worked.

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