Top 9 Most Expensive Ancient Books in the World Today

As the title suggests, Birds of America is an ancient book featuring 435 hand-drawn illustrations of various bird species. This remarkable piece is one of the best-preserved 19th-century Audubon masterpieces. Initially, the book was displayed and auctioned at Sotheby’s for £6.5 million, where it was purchased by an anonymous bidder.

The bird illustrations in this book are highly valuable, with each drawing possessing unique beauty and significance. There were concerns that the book might be dismantled and sold in pieces, but this did not happen. The intact value of the book lies in its complete collection of materials. Not only is the book rare in the market, but it also holds immense importance in the field of natural history research worldwide.

The Canterbury Tales is among the most coveted handwritten books in the world. Authored by Geoffrey Chaucer, the work centers around stories from the Hundred Years' War in England during the late 14th century. The collection includes various genres, predominantly poetry, with a few prose pieces written in Middle English.

To elaborate on this valuable ancient book, it tells the tale of a group of pilgrims traveling from London to Canterbury Cathedral. At a small inn, the host suggests that each pilgrim tell a story to pass the time, with the best tale earning a free meal. These stories unfold with characters from all walks of life in 15th-century society. In 1998, the book was sold at auction for $7.5 million.

The book Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, also known as the Folio, is the first complete collection of the legendary playwright's works. Published in 1623, it continued to be issued for seven years after Shakespeare's death, with approximately 750 to 800 copies printed. Today, only about 228 copies of the Folio are preserved worldwide. In a 2006 auction, a wealthy collector paid $6.1 million to acquire one of these rare volumes.

In addition to the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling also released The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a book that first appeared in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows* as a farewell gift from Professor Dumbledore to Hermione. Having grown up in a pure-blood wizarding family, Ron was already familiar with the fairy tales in the book, while Hermione and Harry, raised by Muggles, had never heard of it. The most important part of the book is the story of the Three Deathly Hallows as told by Xenophilius Lovegood in *The Tale of the Three Brothers*: the Philosopher’s Stone, the Elder Wand, and the Invisibility Cloak.

This highly valuable book was handwritten and illustrated by Rowling herself, who decided to donate the proceeds from its sale to the charity campaign *The Voices of Children*. Of the seven copies she created, six were given to people connected to the Harry Potter books. A special edition called the *Moonstone Edition* was sold at a Sotheby’s auction for $3.98 million.

Codex Leicester is known as the most expensive book in the world, purchased by the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, for $30.8 million. This remarkable manuscript was created by the renowned artist and scientist, Leonardo da Vinci.

The priceless Codex Leicester is a collection of scientific notes and detailed sketches, offering a rare glimpse into Da Vinci’s genius. Comprising 72 pages made of linen, it contains over 300 notes on topics related to water, its movement (tides and dams), and the relationship between the moon, Earth, and the sun. This manuscript offers an invaluable look at the intersection of art and science and highlights Da Vinci’s groundbreaking contributions to scientific thought.

The St Cuthbert Gospel, also known as the *Gospel of John*, was completed in the late 7th century, around 698 AD, on the island of Lindisfarne. It was placed in the tomb of Saint Cuthbert, and after his remains were discovered in 1104 in Durham, the manuscript was rediscovered. This book is considered the oldest surviving book in Europe, bound in red leather, and remarkably preserved in its original form. In 2011, the British Library acquired this priceless manuscript from the Society of Jesus.

The Bay Psalm Book is an incredibly rare and valuable antique, holding significance as a symbol of New England's independence from the Church of England. It was the first book ever printed in the United States in 1640, in Massachusetts. The 300-page book was translated from Hebrew into English and contains hymns sung by the Puritans. Today, only 11 copies remain of the original 700 printed in the 17th century.

Nearly 400 years old, the Bay Psalm Book was acquired by American billionaire David Rubenstein for $14.16 million at a Sotheby’s auction on November 26, 2013.