The much-expected auction of the Book of Mormon in Geneva on 19 September fetched $105,600. This extraordinary and rare first edition of the 177-year-old book Mormon’s Book was sold to an anonymous buyer at New York estate auction.
Out of the total 5,000 (first-edition) printed copies of the Book of Mormon, barely 500 exist today in libraries and museums. In 1830, E. B. Grandin wrote and published the first editions of the book in Palmyra. The auction that started with $75,000 soon turned into a six-figure amount of $105,600. Besides the bid of $96,000, the buyer also paid 10% commission.
The book is no less than a scripture for Mormons, on equivalence with the Bible. Church founder Joseph Smith made the use of the gold plates given to him by an angel for translation. The copy that was sold was uncovered by the workers busy cleaning the house, the edition was lying underneath of books-box.
