Some books in human history are more valuable than we think, and it's natural for anyone who hears about their selling price to become interested in the book's content. We will introduce you to them now.

1. Leonardo da Vinci's book "The Code of Leicester" - 30.8 million dollars

   The book consists of 72 pages in total, containing various notes, observations, mathematical calculations, and drawings. A distinctive feature of the Leicester Code is that Leonardo used a different font when writing it. You can only read the words in it using a special window. This book was purchased by Bill Gates in 1994.

2. St. Cuthbert's Gospel, $15.1 million

    The first undamaged European book was acquired in 2012 by the British Library in London for $14 million following successful fundraising efforts.

   The Gospel of Saint-Cutbert was buried with its owner and writer, Saint-Cutbert, who died in 687. The book is in amazingly good condition and, despite being 1300 years old, still retains its mandatory and beautiful red cover.

   The Gospel was found in 1104 when Cuthbert's body was transferred from the tomb to the temple, and it was used for some time as a protective talisman.

   By the beginning of the 17th century, the book was privately owned until it was donated to the Jesuit community in Belgium, where it remained for 250 years. You can view the book in the online database of digital manuscripts of the British Library.

3. Massachusetts Book of Psalms, $14.5 million

    The Massachusetts Psalter was printed in 1640 and was the first book printed in Britain in North America. In 1947, a copy of the Gulf Psalms - 11 of which are known - broke the world record for the most expensive printed book when a copy was sold at auction for $151 (about $1,000 million today). In year 1,8, he went on the auction again, breaking his record when billionaire David Rubenstein bought him for 2013 million dollars.

4. Rothschild's Watch Book, $13.9 million

  The Rothschild Watch Book is a 16th-century Flemish manuscript decorated with magnificent miniatures of Renaissance master paintings and adorned with gold. The book takes its name from the Rothschild family, who bought the book after 1868 (where it was in the previous 350 years is unknown).

   In 1938, the book was stolen by the Nazis; four years later, Hitler donated it to the National Library in Vienna. Surprisingly, the library refused to return it to the Rothschilds. Only in 1999 was the book returned to its rightful owners.

   The Rothschild prayer book was first sold to an anonymous buyer in 1999 for $13.38 million ($20.4 million depending on inflation). In 2014, he was again sold to billionaire Australian businessman Carrie Stokes for $13.9 million. Taking inflation into account, the price of the book decreased by almost 7 million dollars.

5. Good News of Heinrich Arslan, $12.4 million

   "The Gospel of Henry the Lion" is a light-colored romance book published at the end of the 12th century and sold for $1,83 million in 12.4 years. According to the New York Times, the book's value was very high among the West German consortium, but they were willing to pay more.

   King Heinrich the Lion was a key figure in the founding of Germany, and tender participants, including the German federal government and private sponsors, pooled their money to bring this book home.

 6. The work of the Gospel of Henry Lva "Order of St. Benedict" was valued at 11.7 million dollars.

  This manuscript was created in the 12th century and consists of 266 pages. The book was purchased by the German government, and now this manuscript is kept in the August Library.

7. James Odyubon's book "The Birds of America" was purchased for 11.5 million dollars.

  It contains unique images of birds. The author James Odyubon drew it with his own hand, corresponding to the vital size of each bird. For this reason, 4 volumes were needed to describe winged birds, and the volume of the book is also large.

  In 2010, an Arab Sheikh bought this valuable book at an auction in London.

8. Jeffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" is worth $7.5 million.

    The original book was published in the 15th century after the author's death. The price of this book is increasing over time. The work, which was sold for £6 in 1776, is now valued at $7,500,000 more than 200 years later.

9. Shakespeare's first book - $6.17 million

   This book was first published after the death of William Shakespeare, in 1623. The book consists of 900 pages and 36 plays.

  Surprisingly, the original price of the book was only £1. Today, it is worth more than 6 million dollars.

10. Duke of Northumberland's bestiary, $5.4 million

   The bestarium of the Duke of Northumberland (written by an unknown author between 1250 and 1260) is a remarkable collection of animals, monsters, and moral tales from the mid-13th century.

   On its beautifully depicted pages, you will find pictures and stories of hydras, satyrs, elephants, donkeys, panthers, and monkeys. The book was sold for $4.1 million in 1990 copies, but it is now owned by the J. Paul Getty Museum.

11. Gutenberg Bible, $4.9 million

   The Gutenberg Bible, also known as the 42-line Bible, published in the first half of the 1450s, is the first book to be printed.

    Approximately 180 original copies were created, and only 31 remained in perfect condition. One of these copies was sold at auction for 1987 million euros in 4.6 years.

   Some books have not lost their value even after many centuries, and even today they are sold at record prices. Thus, books are valuable works not only of knowledge but also of art.

Prepared by Mamura Turayeva