A 1777 copy of the New Testament Bible, printed by Edward Draper of Boston, sold for $199,500 in the virtual online auction of the estate of Peter Hickey, held on-site in Newburyport, Mass., on March 15 by John McInnis Auctioneers LLC. The price achieved for the Bible was very much a surprise, both to the family and members of my auction team that cataloged the sale, said auctioneer John McInnis. But the sale had eyes on it, and we had seven hundred registered bidders. There was chatter. People were talking, and that led to competition and spirited bidding. In the end the buyer and the seller were both happy. Ive been in the auction business for 45 years. This was a classic example of things being done the right way and the items up for competitive bidding, not just the Bible, being showcased properly. Often, families hire a company to hold an estate tag sale. If this family had done that, the Bible could easily have been tagged at 10 or 20 dollars or put into a box lot, added McInnis. McInnis said kudos need to go out to Dan Meader and Jay Williamson, key members of his team who did a yeomans job of pulling it all together. Jay did the cataloging, but to say it was a challenge for him and Dan to go through a completely packed house and have to sort, organize and re-stage everything would be a huge understatement, he said. The Bible could have been overlooked were it not for their keen eye. During the auction, the bidding was fast and furious, up to around the $80,000 mark. Then it quickly dwindled down to two determined bidders, remarked McInnis. In the end, a local rare books aficionado outbid a New York City rare books firm. It was fun watching them go toe-to-toe. All prices reported are hammer, exclusive of the buyers premium. Coincidentally, a month earlier, a first-edition copy of The Book of Mormon from 1830 sold for over $200,000, establishing a new benchmark for a foundational work of American religious history. The two auctions suggest that the demand for antique religious texts may be gaining traction as a collectible, one with high-dollar potential. At the Hickey estate auction, bidders discovered thousands of objects represented in nearly 700 lots that included not only items and furnishings accumulated over a lifetime, but also family heirlooms descended through the estates families. A 57-piece Wallace Grand Baroque Sterling flatware set weighing 63.3 troy ounces, in a felt-lined wooden case, sold for $5,370. A large, ca. 1958 carved and painted eagle, made for Jordan Marshs Mens Department by an artisan from Marblehead, Mass., realized $2,744, and a Hamilton gimballed marine chronometer, model #22, in good condition, sold for $2,655. To learn more, visit www.mcinnisauctions.com.