How much would you pay for a letter written by Albert Einstein that contains the groundbreaking equation E=mc2 ? It’s worth remembering that this phrase had significant impacts on the world of math and science, causing many to rethink beliefs they had previously held after they delved into Einstein’s thinking.
Now, a letter from Einstein that contains the equation in question has sold at auction for a sum that’s more than triple what was expected. The Guardian reports that Boston’s RR Auction wound up with a substantial amount of bids for the letter, with the eventual winner coming in at $1.2 million.
The relatively high price might be due to the fact that the letter is one of only four known to exist where Einstein wrote E=mc2 himself.
Einstein’s letter was written on October 26, 1946, and was sent to physicist Ludwik Silberstein. As the article points out, Silberstein was “a well-known critic and challenger to some of Einstein’s theories.” It was one of several letters being sold at auction by Silberstein’s descendants. (And, according to this article, there was also an NFT component.) It’s a piece of scientific history, soon headed for a new home.
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