Long-lost 1787 letter from George Washington expected to fetch $50,000

A long-lost letter from George Washington revealing his financial woes after the Revolutionary War could fetch $50,000 at the auction house where it is for sale.

The never-before-seen letter was written in March 1787, just months before Washington left for Philadelphia to chair the Constitutional Convention, and two years before he became the first president of the United States.

In the letter, Washington corresponded with a fellow officer from the Revolution over a plot of land in western Pennsylvania he hoped to sell.

The officer, Colonel Israel Shreve, wanted to buy the land with credit, but in the letter Washington insisted he needed cash for the sale.

Washington's letter was found in a private collection in West Virginia. It is being sold by the Raab Collection, an auction house which deals with historical documents.

George Washington found himself strapped for cash after the Revolutionary War in 1787

The first page of the never before seen letter written by George Washington in 1787

The letter was previously unknown to scholars and has never appeared in any collections of Washington's writings, according to the Raab Collection.

It concerned a 1,644-acre property on the banks of the Youghiogheny River known Washington's Bottom which Washington first purchased in 1768.

According to previous correspondences, Washington found himself on hard financial times in early 1787 due to outstanding debts 

'Those who owe me money cannot or will not pay it without suits and to sue is like doing nothing,' he wrote his mother in February that that year. 'Whilst my expenses, not from any extravagance, or an inclination on my part to live splendidly but for the absolute support of my family and the visitors who are constantly here are exceedingly high.'

In answer to those problems, Washington chose to sell off some of his landholdings, which amounted to more than 70,000 acres at its height. At the time of Washinton's death in 1799, he owned about 52,000 acres.

Washington began corresponding with Shreve - who served in the 2nd New Jersey Regiment and camped with Washington at Valley Forge in 1777 - with the colonel hoping to buy Washington's land with land credits awarded Revolutionary veterans known as bounty land warrants. 

The letter was printed by Washington's secretary, Tobias Lear. Its final section and signature were inked by Washington himself, according to the Raab Collection

The letter was written at Washington's home at Mount Vernon, in Virginia

In the newly discovered letter, Washington responded to Shreve over the matter from his Virginia home at Mount Vernon.

'Your favor of the 5th inst. came duly to hand,' Washington wrote in the letter. 'The land you mention is for sale, & I wish it was convenient for me to accommodate you with it for military certificates; but to raise money is the only inducement I have to sell it.' 

'Consequently, certificates if they cannot be converted into cash, will not answer my purpose. And if they can you would be able to do it on better terms than I, as I know nothing of their value, having no dealings in them. '

'My price is 40/ Pennsylvania money per acre if sold altogether, which is one third less than small tracts of land in the vicinity, of less intrinsic value, have sold for. One fourth of the money to be paid down – the other three fourths in three annual payments, with interest.'

Initially, Shreve only leased 600 acres of the property from Washington. Later in 1795 however, he purchased the complete property for 40,000 in Pennsylvania currency.

The letter was printed by Washington's secretary, Tobias Lear. Its final section and signature were inked by Washington himself, according to the Raab Collection.