Newly discovered letter that George Washington wrote in 1787 hints at money problems

A portrait of George Washington, left, and a letter written by in March 1787, right, in a composite image. Raab Collection, Getty Images

• A historical documents dealer announced the discovery of a long-lost letter from George Washington.
• The 1787 letter shows that the future first president was once hard-pressed for cash.
• The letter, which is now for sale, is valued at $50,000.

A Pennsylvania-based historical documents dealer announced on Sunday the discovery of a long-lost letter from George Washington.

The 1787 letter, which the Raab Collection says was previously unknown to scholars, sheds light on the financial concerns of the future first president, and suggests that Washington was once hard-pressed for cash.

In the letter, Washington wants to sell a 1,644-acre tract of land, called Washington's Bottom, in western Pennsylvania.

He wrote to Israel Shreve, a retired colonel of the Revolutionary War who had previously expressed an interest in acquiring the land, on March 20, 1787, per the Raab Collection. Shreve had seemingly offered some form of credit, which Washington had declined, insisting on cash instead, the letter shows.

"To raise money is the only inducement I have to sell it," Washington wrote.

The letter was written just a few months before the Constitutional Convention in 1787, which resulted in the creation of the American Constitution, and it paints a portrait of a now-iconic figure dealing with relatable financial worries, said Nathan Raab, the principal of the Raab Collection, in a statement.

"This powerful letter, coming as it does on the doorstep of one of Washington's great moments, gives us a glimpse into the financial stresses and concerns of Washington, a man we think of in mythic terms but really had many of our own, very human issues," Raab said.

The letter lay undiscovered in a small private collection in rural West Virginia. At some point, it was divested by the recipient's heirs, before eventually being acquired by the auction house, Raab told Insider by email.

But the timeline of ownership is a little murky. "Its whereabouts have been unknown between its receipt in 1787 and its acquisition by the father of the previous owner, from whom it was inherited," Raab said. "The fact that no details exist of the interim is the precise reason why it is unpublished."

Now, the historical documents dealer is putting the letter up for sale, valuing it at $50,000, according to a press release.

Historians have long known that Washington had money troubles in early 1787. A letter from February 15 of that year, for example, mentioned how he was struggling with "exceedingly high" expenses.

In that letter, Washington wrote to his mother: "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.

"Higher indeed than I can support, without selling part of my estate which I am disposed to do rather than run in debt."