Correct as of December 2025
If someone asked you what the world’s most expensive book cost, how much would you say?
£100k? £500k? A million?
It’s surprising what rare books can sell for, and the actual answer is in the tens of millions.
Books are valuable not just because of their contents, but also for their rarity, their history and their authorship. Those that date back hundreds, or even thousands, of years will fetch significantly more money than modern books, particularly if they shaped history, reflect on pivotal historical moments or were written by a notable figure.
They become rare artifacts and collectors items to be cherished until they pass into the hands of someone else or eventually re-sell.
The world’s most expensive document sold at Sotheby’s auction in 2021. It was an extremely rare (one of just 11), first-edition printed copy of the US Constitution, bought by Ken Griffiths for $43.2m (£31.9m).
But what about books and manuscripts? Below, we reveal the most expensive book in the world, as well as 9 of those that follow pretty closely behind. We’ve organised these at the price they sold for at the time, not taking inflation into account.
What is the most expensive book ever sold?
Codex Sassoon is the most expensive book ever, and was sold at Sotheby's New York for $38.1m (around £30.6m) in May 2023.
The book is one of the world’s oldest surviving biblical manuscripts and is thought to be approximately 1,100 years old. It’s named after David Solomon Sassoon, a man who collected Jewish manuscripts and purchased the book himself in 1929.
After his death, his estate was broken up and the book was sold by Sotheby’s to the British Rail Pension Fund for around $320,000. They sold it after just 11 years to Jacqui Safra in 1989 for $2.5m.
It was Safra who sold it in 2023 to achieve the record.
Codex Sassoon is the only almost-complete Hebrew bible, and is leather-bound and handwritten on parchment. The Hebrew bible contains 24 books, known to Christians as the Old Testament, but many editions had pages missing. The Aleppo Codex, which contains much of the same text, was damaged in a fire and as a result only contains 295 pages out of the total 487.
It’s thought that Codex Sassoon was created around 900AD and is only missing 12 pages.
Sharon Mintz, senior Jewish artefact specialist at the auction house, said: "It presents to us the first time an almost-complete book of the Hebrew Bible appears with the vowel points, the cantillation and the notes on the bottom telling scribes how the correct text should be written.
What are some of the other most expensive books in the world?
The Book of Mormon — $35m in 2017
And no, we’re not talking about the script for the musical.
The printer’s manuscript of the Book of Mormon was sold to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for $35m in 2017.
The book was handwritten by Joseph Smith, a man who was said to have found ancient Egyptian engravings on some gold plates in 1827. The story goes that with the help of God, he translated the engravings and handwrote the translation, turning it into a printer’s manuscript ready for publishing.
The printer’s copy was provided by Smith to the printer EB Grandin in New York in 1830 and it was used to create the first edition of the Book of Mormon.
Steven Snow, LDS historian, said: “We hold the Book of Mormon to be a sacred text like the Bible. The printer’s manuscript is the earliest surviving copy of about 72% of the Book of Mormon text, since only about 28% of the earlier dictation copy survived decades of storage in a cornerstone in Nauvoo, Illinois.”
Codex Leicester — $30.8m in 1994
Codex Leicester is one of Leonardo da Vinci’s handwritten notebooks, containing over 300 illustrations, as well as some diary-style entries (written backwards, as was his style) of da Vinci’s observations and theories on astronomy, water movement and lunar luminosity. It’s so named as it was originally acquired by the Earl of Leicester, Thomas Coke, in 1717.
The manuscript sold to Bill Gates in November 1994, and if we were incorporating inflation, this sale would probably top our list at around $60m.
The Magna Carta, $21.3m in 2007
This might be one of the first books on this list that you’ve actually heard of.
The Magna Carta is renowned for being the first ever legal document. It was formed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to establish some laws among his people and better regulate the head of the state, the King. It was the first document to show that even royalty had to stick to the rules.
This particular copy dated back to 1297 and was issued and signed by King Edward I. It sold at Sotheby’s New York to David Rubenstein, who said: “This document stands the test of time. There is nothing more important than what it represents. I am privileged to be the new owner, but I am only the temporary custodian.”
Sherborne Missal, $21.2m in 1998
The Sherbourne Missal is like a really beautiful order of service. It’s thought that it was created between 1399 and 1407 for St. Mary’s Abbey in Sherborne, Dorset. It contains some texts for Mass throughout the year, and is adorned with stunning imagery, including birds and religious figures.
The book is made from approximately 347 vellum leaves and weighs about 20kg. It was sold to the British Library in 1998 for $21.2m.
You can view the entire book via the British Library’s website (and it’s worth it to see the beauty of the text and images).
Northumberland Bestiary, est. $20m in 2007
It’s usual for a book to achieve such high valuations because of its author and its historical value. But this is the first book on our list that doesn’t have a famous author or an effect on our history.
The author(s) of this book is unknown, and yet it is filled with beautiful illustrations and scribed text that describes both fantastical and real creatures. It’s thought that the manuscript acted as a teaching aid for clerics, as it includes chapters on creation, animals and human conditions.
Over 100 animals feature in the book, including a six-headed hydra who grows three more heads for each one that is cut off.
The book was purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2007, for an unknown price (estimated at $20m). You can view some of the drawings and text via the Getty website.
St. Cuthbert Gospel, £9m/$14.3m in 2012
The St. Cuthbert Gospel is valuable purely because it’s the oldest intact bound book. The book dates back to the 7th century, and there are very few surviving books from this time period that are still intact.
It was buried with St. Cuthbert himself, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, but it was unearthed during some Viking raids in 1104. It is still in its original red leather binding and gives us great insight into how books were made over 1,400 years ago.
The British Library purchased the book in 2012 for £9m after fundraising to gain the funds.
Bay Psalm Book, $14.2m in 2013
The Bay Psalm Book has become renowned for being the first book to be printed in North America. It is a translation of around 150 Hebrew Psalms into English, and was then further arranged into English verse so it could be sung.
It was originally produced and printed in 1640 by Stephen Daye, an Englishman who brought his printing press over to Massachusetts in 1638. The press printed 1,700 copies initially, and it’s thought there are just 11 remaining, including this one.
It sold at auction for $14.2m in 2013. And who was its purchaser? David Rubenstein, who also purchased the Magna Carta in 2007. He said he “plans to share it with the American public by loaning it to libraries across the country, before putting it on long-term loan at one of them.”
The Rothschild Prayerbook, $13.6m in 2014
The Rothschild Prayerbook is known as an illuminated manuscript, a handwritten book that’s decorated with elaborate ornamentation, including bright colors, gold or silver leaf, and miniature paintings.
It was made in Flanders, a region of Belgium, and is considered a Book of Hours, or a prayerbook. Its name comes from its previous owner, Anselm von Rothschild, who had it in his collection as early as the late 19th century. The prayerbook was passed down his family until 1938, when it was seized by the Nazis. It was restored to the Rothschild family in 1999.
In 2014, it went up for auction at Christie’s with a guide price of $12-18m. It achieved the lower end of the scale, selling for $13.6m.
Gospels of Henry the Lion, £8.1m in 1983
Commissioned in the 12th century by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, the Gospels of Henry the Lion is one of the greatest surviving masterpieces of medieval art.
Created around 1188 at the Benedictine Helmarshausen Abbey, this illuminated manuscript epitomises Romanesque craftsmanship and religious devotion. It contains 266 pages of Latin text, including 50 full-page illustrations that reflect both the Duke’s immense power and the spiritual grandeur of the age.
When it appeared at Sotheby’s in London in 1983, the manuscript caused a sensation, fetching £8,140,000. It was considered the most expensive book in the world, until Gates bought the Codex Leicester in 1994.
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