Bible from 1100 Years Ago Sold for 51 Billion Won... Could Not Surpass 'First Edition of the US Constitution'

Hebrew Bible... Second Oldest Ancient Manuscript
Highest Price is 57.8 Billion KRW for First Edition of U.S. Constitution

A Hebrew Bible created over 1,100 years ago was auctioned for $38.1 million (approximately 51 billion KRW). This is the second highest price ever paid for an ancient manuscript.

On the 17th (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the Bible known as the "Codex Sassoon" was sold at a Sotheby's auction in New York.

A Hebrew Bible created over 1,100 years ago was sold for $38.1 million (approximately 51 billion KRW). This is the second highest price ever paid for an ancient manuscript.
[Photo by AP·Yonhap News]

The winning bid of $38.1 million ranks as the second highest price ever paid for an ancient manuscript. The most expensive ancient manuscript sold to date is the first edition of the U.S. Constitution, purchased two years ago by billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin for $43.2 million (approximately 57.8 billion KRW).

Initially, Sotheby's had anticipated that the Bible could fetch up to $50 million (approximately 66.9 billion KRW), but it did not surpass the price of the U.S. Constitution first edition. However, it sold for a higher price than Leonardo da Vinci's notebook, the "Codex Leicester," which was bought by Microsoft founder Bill Gates for $30.8 million (approximately 41.2 billion KRW).

The winning bid of 38.1 million dollars for Codex Sinaiticus is the second highest price ever recorded for the sale of an ancient manuscript.
[Photo by EPA·Yonhap News]

The buyer is an American philanthropic organization that supports the ANU Museum located in Tel Aviv, Israel. This organization plans to donate the Codex Sassoon to the ANU Museum.

Meanwhile, the Codex Sassoon is estimated to have been created in the late 9th or early 10th century. It is a massive book consisting of 396 parchment pages, with a thickness of 13 cm and a weight of 12 kg. It is composed of 24 small volumes and includes the Old Testament, known to Jews as the "Tanakh."

The name "Codex Sassoon" originates from the Sassoon family, a Jewish dynasty that purchased the book in 1929 for 350 British pounds and kept it for nearly 50 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.