Priceless Ancient Papyrus with Gospel of John Extract Found on eBay for $99

A scholar of early Christianity at the University of Texas has announced his discovery earlier this year of a priceless fragment of the New Testament written in ancient Greek – for sale on eBay with an opening bid of just $99.

The New York Times reports that the ancient papyrus fragment, was spotted by Dr Geoffrey Smith, who persuaded the seller to pull the item from eBay and allow him to study it.

“The credit-card-size papyrus, which Dr Smith dates from around AD 250 to AD 350, contains about six lines of the Gospel of John on one side and an unidentified Christian text on the other,” writes the New York Times. “If Dr Smith’s analysis is correct, it is the only known Greek New Testament papyrus from an unused scroll rather than a codex, the emerging book technology that early Christians, in sharp contrast to their Jewish and pagan contemporaries, preferred for their texts.”