Charity shop 'shocked' as Bible sells for £56,000

Nick Reeves said staff watching the auction were "absolutely speechless"

Charity shop workers have been left "in complete shock" after a donated Bible sold at auction for more than £56,000.

The rare text, which was the first Bible written in Chinese, had been dropped off at an Oxfam bookshop in Chelmsford.

Volunteers put it up for auction with a pre-sale estimate of up to £800, after believing it could be valuable.

Shop manager Nick Reeves said staff were "absolutely speechless" when it instead sold for £56,280.

The book was the first Bible written in Chinese, and dates back to 1815

The book, which dates back to about 1815, was plucked from a pile of donations by volunteers Chris Tyrrell and Eleanor Atac two years ago.

"When they found it, they knew it was something special, and it wasn't put out on the shop floor," said Mr Reeves.

"It was originally valued at a few hundred pounds, so you can imagine our reaction when we were watching the auction live.

"It was just going up and up.

"When it finally ended, I was in complete shock. We were absolutely speechless."

Auction specialist Dr Lorenza Gay said the Bible was "exceptionally rare"

The Bible was among 23 other texts donated to various Oxfam shops, which went under the hammer at Bonhams between 10 and 20 March.

More than £105,000 was raised by the sale of books at the auction.

Some of the highest sellers included:

• A first edition of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol for £16,640

• A Dickens autograph quoting the same book for £12,160

• A first edition of Karl Marx's Manifesto of the Communist Party for £10,880

• A signed copy of Matilda, by Roald Dahl, for £2,304

The Bible never made it on to the shop floor in Chelmsford

Dr Lorenza Gay, a specialist at Bonhams, said the Bible stood out among the lots due to being "exceptionally rare".

"We hoped it would exceed the estimate, but it definitely surprised us with the final price achieved," she said.

Ian Falkingham, from Oxfam, added: "The money raised from these books will go towards helping tackle poverty and inequality across the globe."