

Dissolve My Nobel Prize, Fast! - alexandros
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/10/03/140815154/dissolve-my-nobel-prize-fast-a-true-story

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bbrizzi

        Back in Denmark, de Hevesy did a remarkable thing.
        He reversed the chemistry, precipitated out the gold
        and then, around January, 1950, sent the raw metal 
        back to the Swedish Academy in Stockholm.
    

He "reversed the chemistry"? Really? That sounds very scientific.

Edit: Further research shows that the first reaction is a simple redox[1],
which can (probably) be inverted using a galvanic cell[2].

[1] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_regia#Dissolving_gold> [2]
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_cell>

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ephelon
It was probably as simple as evaporating the liquid and then heating the gold
residue.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_parting#Acid_parting>

