Somebody Just Shelled Out $5.3 Million For A Francis Crick Letter Describing DNA
Francis Crick's Letter To His Son Christie's via io9Which makes it the most expensive letter ever sold at auction Describing the double-helix structure of DNA was arguably the most important scientific discovery of the 20th century. So it was a big deal when this letter, penned by one half of the duo who discovered the structure, went on sale at a New York auction. Now the letter has been sold--for $5.3 million. Francis Crick wrote the letter to his 12-year-old son in 1953. The full transcript is here, which is worth reading just for the wonderfully understated beginning: Dear Michael, Jim Watson and I have probably made a most important discovery. Watson and Crick, along with Maurice Wilkins, were later awarded the Nobel Prize for that "probably... most important discovery." The $5.3 million bid makes this the most expensive letter ever sold at auction (previous king: an Abraham Lincoln letter sold in 2008 for...