The price of an old book in the auction has been fixed at Rs 3 crore 18 lakh. The price may surprise you. But when you know the history of the book then this price will not seem unusual to you.

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The book is dated 1531. The book was written by the diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli during the Italian Renaissance. This book on political ideology is called 'The Prince'. But the book that has been auctioned is a rare and first edition. Only 11 first copies of this book, written in the early 16th century, were published. Most of which are held in institutional collections.

But this copy up for auction comes from a private collection. Which is described as a unique discovery in the CNN report. That is why it is estimated that the price of this book can be 3 million pounds.

CNN quoted Sotheby's books and manuscripts expert Gabriel Heaton as saying, 'We were not aware of any private copies of the book. This is the first copy we are aware of coming to auction. This is a first edition and a copy has the unique opportunity to come to auction.'

The first edition of 'The Prince' will be part of the Sotheby's book and manuscript auction in London, which runs from November 28 to December 12. It remains to be seen how much this copy of the book will eventually sell for.