Historic Copy of U.S. Constitution Heads to Auction

A rare copy of the U.S. Constitution, printed 237 years ago, is set to be auctioned Thursday in North Carolina.
The document, which was sent to the states for ratification after the Constitutional Convention in 1787, has a starting bid of $1 million.
Brunk Auctions will oversee the sale of the copy, which is believed to be the only one of its kind still in private hands.
The copy was printed in 1787 by Charles Thomson, secretary of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation.
Only about 100 of these copies were made, and just eight are known to have survived.
There are no set price thresholds for the auction, as the minimum bid has already been made.
The auction, originally scheduled for Sept. 28, was delayed due to damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
The document was found in 2022 during a property cleanout in Edenton, North Carolina, in a home once owned by Samuel Johnston.
Of the remaining copies, seven are publicly owned, making the one up for auction particularly rare.
Thomson is thought to have signed two copies of the document for each of the original 13 states, certifying them for distribution.
The journey of this particular copy from Thomson’s signature to its recent discovery remains largely unknown.
Johnston, who served as North Carolina’s governor from 1787 to 1789, oversaw the state convention that ratified the Constitution.
The historic paper was located in a metal filing cabinet, tucked away in a neglected room filled with old furniture and dusty bookshelves.
The broad sheet, printed on both sides, includes a letter from George Washington urging the states to ratify the Constitution.
Washington’s letter acknowledged the necessity of compromise and warned that some state rights would have to be sacrificed for the nation’s future stability.
Auction officials are unsure of what the final sale price might be due to the rarity of comparable transactions.
The last time a state-ratified copy of the Constitution sold was in 1891 for just $400.
In 2021, Sotheby’s auctioned a different version of the Constitution printed for Congress and convention delegates, fetching a record-breaking $43.2 million.
It was purchased by Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, who loaned the document to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, for public exhibition.
Griffin outbid a crowdfund group of 17,000 cryptocurrency enthusiasts.
Brunk Auctions has described the Constitution copy as one of the most important documents ever offered for sale, referring to it as “the cornerstone of our democracy.”
In addition to the Constitution, Brunk Auctions will also offer several other notable historical items.
These include a first draft of the 1776 Articles of Confederation and a 1788 journal from North Carolina’s Hillsborough convention, where delegates debated the ratification.
Also included in the nine-lot auction are an Emanuel Leutze painting of Washington Crossing the Delaware and a Congressional ordinance signed by Thomson defining his own duties.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press