BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — A handwritten letter by Albert Einstein sold for three times more than expected in a Boston auction on Friday.
The letter, written in German in October of 1946, is one of the few documents that features Einstein’s famed mathematical equation (E = mc2) in his own handwriting.
According to Bobby Livingston, Executive Vice President of RR Auction, the letter was expected to sell at $400,000 -- but ended up being purchased at $1.2 million.
"[In the letter] Einstein is writing to a fellow physicist, and the physicist asks him a question and Einstein basically says, 'look it's easy, just use (E = mc2),'" Livingston said.
Livingston said it was "thrilling" to see the letter be sold at such a high price, but believes it was "appropriate" for the item.
"I'm not surprised, because it is one of the most famous formulas in history," he said. "We might not all know what it means, but (E = mc2) is the most famous mathematical equation."
There are other known versions of the equation written in Einstein's handwriting at universities in California and Israel -- but this is believed to be the first one in private hands.
WBZ NewsRadio's Suzanne Sausville (@WBZSausville) reports:
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Written by Rachel Armany
(Photo: Suzanne Sausville/WBZ NewsRadio)