Max Planck Medal

The inaugural award: Max Planck (left) presents Albert Einstein (right) with the Max Planck medal of the German Physical Society, 28 June 1929, in Berlin, Germany.

The Max Planck Medal is the highest award of the German Physical Society {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, the world's largest organization of physicists, for extraordinary achievements in theoretical physics. The prize has been awarded annually since 1929, with few exceptions, and usually to a single person. The winner is awarded with a gold medal and hand-written parchment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1943 it was not possible to manufacture the gold medal because the Berlin foundry was hit by a bomb. The board of directors of the German Physical Society decided to manufacture the medals in a substitute metal and to deliver the gold medals later.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The highest award of the German Physical Society for outstanding results in experimental physics is the Stern–Gerlach Medal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>