Ancient Hebrew bible, $38.1 million, Sotheby’s

Codex Sassoon—the earliest, most complete Hebrew bible in existence, dating to the late 9th to early 10th century—sold for $38.1 million at an auction held May 17th by Sotheby’s in New York. It was the most valuable book or manuscript ever sold at auction, surpassing the 1994 sale of Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Leicester manuscript, which brought $30.8 million. Codex Sassoon was acquired by Ambassador Alfred H. Moses and was gifted to the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.