One of the most fascinating stories of the activity series (because there are so many, donchaknow) is that of the dissolving of two Nobel prizes (the gold medallions themselves) in a desperate rush as the Nazis marched into Copenhagen an 1940. The story involved aqua regia - a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids - and the heroic efforts of George de Hevesy.
The most heart-warming part of the story, then, is that de Hevesy was able to return in 1950 and recover the gold, which he then had reminted by the Nobel Prize committee for eventual presentation back to the original award winners in 1952.
The story is
published by NPR who quote Sam Kean's
The Disappearing Spoon.
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