Highest price ever paid for a letter penned by America 's first president . Four - page letter sold for $ 3.2 million at auction by Christie 's on 2016 . Letter was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1861 . `` Washington professed neutrality in public , but to Bushrod expressed his unequivocal conviction that the new Constitution must be ratified , in spite of opposition from many special-interest groups , '' Christie 's said . Last year , a 1864 letter by President Abraham Lincoln sold for $ 1 million .
Highest price ever paid for a letter penned by America 's first president . Four - page letter sold for $ 3.2 million at auction by Christie 's on 2016 . Letter was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1861 . Last year , a 1864 letter by President Abraham Lincoln sold for $ 1 million .