The first book written about a stock market is selling for $300,000

Joseph Penso de la Vega's Confusion of Confusions was published in 1688

On Tuesday the first book known to be written about a stock exchange went on sale at Sotheby’s Rare Books and Manuscripts online auction, carrying an estimate of $200,000 to $300,000. Written by Joseph Penso de la Vega in 1688, the Confusion of Confusions is a primer for the Amsterdam stock exchange, which was set up by the Dutch East India company in 1602. Bids close on Dec. 17.

Vega, a Sephardic Jew who had immigrated from Spain to Amsterdam earlier in the century, wrote the book in Spanish and described the mechanics of the exchange—including descriptions of puts, calls, pools,