A collection of rare Bibles, some worth over a million dollars and some dating back to the 15th century, will be on display from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, located at 1342 West Exchange Parkway in Allen.
The only continent I don’t have a Bible from is Antarctica. I have Bibles from Kings, Queens, and Emperors. I have a hand written page from a Bible written in 1250, I have Marie Antoinette’s prayer book, and I have a Bible from 1492- that’s the same year Columbus found America- which was written in Greek.
“I have about 600 years’ worth of Bibles collected from six different continents,” Allen resident Reid Moon said. “The only continent I don’t have a Bible from is Antarctica. I have Bibles from Kings, Queens, and Emperors. I have a hand written page from a Bible written in 1250, I have Marie Antoinette’s prayer book, and I have a Bible from 1492- that’s the same year Columbus found America- which was written in Greek.”
Moon doesn’t limit his collection to religious texts, as he also has Marie Antoinette’s prayer book
Several Bibles in his collection hold value for more reasons than just their age.
“I have a first edition King James which is referred to as a ‘he’ Bible because of a typo within it,” Moon said. “In Ruth 3:15 when Ruth was going into the city it said ‘and he went into the city’ instead of she. These Bibles were also the first ones printed so they are more desirable. In the world there are probably fewer than 100 ‘he’ Bibles. Because of that they are very valuable. This particular one that I own is worth over $150,000. The ‘he’ Bibles are the most sought after first edition King James Bibles.”
One of his most impressive books, however, is less than a century old.
“I have J.R.R. Tolkien’s Bible, the author of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings,” Moon said. “While he was writing Lord of the Rings this was the Bible he was using and he made notes in Greek and English in the margins. He even corrected some things and made a better translation. Tolkien smoked a pipe so there is tobacco and even burn stains on some of the pages.”
Moon recently added J.R.R. Tolkien’s bible to his collection.
However, his most valuable Bible is one of his smallest Bibles.
“Monetarily the most valuable Bible is this thumb size Bible,” Moon said. “These are referred to as thumb Bibles just because of their size. It’s one that belonged to Joseph Smith and it is one of very few books that he signed his name in. This would sell for more than any book that I have here. It would sell for more than $1,000,000.”
Despite the age of most of the Bibles in Moon’s collection, they appear to be in great condition.
“They made things a lot better back then,” Moon said. “For one they didn’t start making inexpensive, cheap paper until the 1800s so this earlier paper is either a linen or cotton and it will last another 400 years. For example, I have a Bible from the 1500s and the paper is not fragile at all and will last another 300 to 500 years no problem. This Bible used to be in the British Museum, so when they started the museum and wanted the best Tyndale Bible this was it at that time.”
Being a treasure hunter was never really the plan for Moon, it just happened to work out that way.
“I changed my major four times because I just didn’t know what I wanted to do and then settled on a major in history,” Moon said. “I then got into the family business. We had a little book store in Dallas and people would come in asking for books that were out of print, this was about 1985, pre-Internet so I learned how to track down books without the aid of the Internet. The best books are always the ones that aren’t advertised and are in private collections. You make acquaintances, for instance I go to book fairs around the world every year in London, Paris, New York, and San Francisco making contacts and that’s how I was able to acquire the Tolkien Bible. Once I started acquiring these books I had people who wanted to buy them from me and then I realized I could do this for a living.”
There are many unique and exciting advantages to being a book collector.
“I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I can confidently say I haven’t met anyone whose job I would rather have,” Moon said. “I love it because it’s a treasure hunt. I don’t know where I’ll be next week. I could be in Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. If get a lead on something I go. A lot of my customers are people you would recognize in the news, but I don’t tell who most of them are because a lot of times they don’t want people to know they have particular books. One of my customers though, is Glenn Beck and I’ve actually been on his show before.”
By the nature of Moon’s job he is never sure of what the next day may look like.
“A typical day for me can be explained in this one story,” Moon said. “A couple of weeks ago I was getting ready to go to the farmer’s market with my daughter when I told her to go and get her jacket. While she was getting her jacket my phone rang and I looked and it was a call from Belgium. And I got a lead on Tolkien’s Bible. It was up in Kansas and I didn’t want to take a chance on losing it, so I checked for flights and there were none so I called the guy and told him I could be there in seven hours. We hopped in the car and drove seven hours each way to get the Bible. That Bible has never been for sale before so I knew if I did not act then it would be another 50 years until that Bible would be back on the market.”
Even though this particular exhibit is religious, Moon collects several different types of books and documents.
“I don’t just collect religious books,” Moon said. “I’ve tracked down books, documents, and letters that belonged to George Washington and Napoleon, but for this specific presentation, since it’s religious, that is all I brought.”
While Moon in fond of several of his acquisitions, he can’t hold onto all of them.
“There are certain Bibles that have been handed down in my family that have much more sentimental value than actual value and there is no temptation to sell those and there are some books that I’m very partial to,” Moon said. “I have a King James Bible that isn’t here but it belonged to King James so I like that one. I’m also a fan of Marie Antoinette so I’ve held on to that one, but a lot of the others I would sell because I need to acquire new books so I can’t hold onto everything. However, there are some books I hold onto. I’ve been offered a lot of money for Tolkien’s Bible but I just acquired it six weeks ago so I’ve turned down those offers.”
