Related Articles
A rare copy of the United States Constitution that was printed shortly after the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and played a role in the document’s adoption by the original 13 states sold for more than $11 million during a live auction on Thursday evening.
The high bid, from a buyer whose identity was not disclosed, was $9 million. That does not include the buyer’s premium of 23 percent or the taxes, which were not disclosed.
The sale was handled by Brunk Auctions, which is based in Asheville, N.C. Bidding began at $1.1 million but quickly jumped to $5 million. It took just over seven minutes before the bidding closed at $9 million, said Nancy Zander, director of external affairs for Brunk Auctions.
“It was a spectacular price,” Ms. Zander said in an interview Friday night. “It’s really important that important things get strong prices.”
The copy of the Constitution was found two years ago in a filing cabinet in the house at Hayes, a farm once owned by Samuel Johnston, who served as governor of North Carolina from December 1787 to December 1789. The document’s discovery garnered national attention for being an early copy of the document and for the role it played in the document’s ratification.
After the Constitutional Convention and after Congress added a ratification resolution, copies were sent to the governors of the original 13 states, who then gauged interest among their residents. Among those copies was the one sold on Thursday.
Another early version of the Constitution, one that was printed before Congress added the ratification resolution, was bought in 2021 by the billionaire Ken Griffin, a hedge fund founder, for more than $43 million, according to a statement.
But Seth Kaller, a historical document expert who collaborated with Brunk Auctions on the sale on Thursday and represented one of the bidders, said he was not surprised that this copy did not even get close to that figure because the 2021 price was inflated for several reasons. For example, he said, a crowdfunding effort from cryptocurrency traders drove up its price.
“Sure, we would have liked to have seen it go for 40, but nobody expected that,” Mr. Kaller said. “The particular lightning that brought that price didn’t make sense and we knew would not have been repeated.”
Thursday’s auction had been scheduled for Sept. 28. But Hurricane Helene, which caused immense destruction in Asheville, forced a postponement. The auction house and its employees were largely unharmed by the flooding, Ms. Zander said. But the gallery remained closed to the public on Thursday, and bidders called into the auction house.
“There would have been, I think, a huge crowd,” Mr. Kaller said. “But that would not have affected the bidding.”
Other items up for sale during the auction, such as a small painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River and a copy of the Articles of Confederation, went for higher prices than was expected, Mr. Kaller said. The painting went for more than $307,000, while the Articles closed at over $1.2 million. He theorized that this was partly because of the added attention on the copy of the Constitution.
“It was not as celebratory as it would have been had we not had the terrible catastrophe around us,” Ms. Zander said. “But we were all together, appreciating the moment.”
<
