Rare Letter That Mozart Penned To Friend Sells For $217K

A rare letter that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed to a friend has sold at auction for $217,000.

The Boston-based RR Auction house says the one-page German note was written in 1786 to Austrian botanist Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, a close friend of Mozart's.

It asks von Jacquin to send a messager to return three scores of music: "... the Quartet in G minor, the Sonata in Eb and the `New Trio in G."'

The auction house didn't disclose the identity of the buyer.

RR Auction executive vice president Bobby Livingston said Thursday that Mozart letters are among the musical items most sought by collectors.