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 .
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 Friday . Letter was written to his nephew Bushrod Washington in November 1787 . Last year , a 1864 letter by President Abraham Lincoln sold for $ 3.4 million .