Centuries-Old U.S. Constitution Goes Up For Auction
According to a recent report in The Guardian, an ultra-rare copy of the United States Constitution is on pace to go up for auction in the coming days. The copy is said to have been made all the way back in 1787 and is one of just 100 known prints, though only eight of the original hundred are known to still exist. Unless Nicolas Cage shows up to snatch the document, the sale is expected to bring in multi-million dollar figures for the auction house.
Delayed By Hurricane Helene
The Constitution auction was initially scheduled to take place this past September in North Carolina, though it has been put on hold due to damages suffered in the region from Hurricane Helene. Despite this hiccup, the constitution has opened with a starting bid of one million dollars and is expected to sell during an evening event taking place on Thursday, October 24. While auctioneers claim they have no idea how high the sale could ultimately go, they are expecting to bring in an eight-figure sum or higher, as the document serves as such an iconic piece of American history.
Recovering A Piece Of History
The Constitution auction is being run by an association known as Brunk Auctions, which acquired the rare copy of the Constitution from a private seller in 2022. At that time, the document was thought to be long lost and had not been located or identified since the date of its writing, over 237 years ago. As it would turn out, the Constitution had been sitting in a dusty, neglected North Carolina basement all that time, in a stained metal file cabinet loaded with god-knows-what other historical artifacts.
This Copy Was Handled By George Washington
The residence where the Constitution was found belonged to the former governor of North Carolina, Samuel Johnston, who served his state back in the late 1700s. Apparently, the copy is one of a select few sent to sitting governors of the time by the nation’s first president, George Washington, and it is accompanied by a letter asking the correspondents to read the document and ratify it.
Those in charge of the Constitution auction have not specified whether Johnston was opposed to ratifying the unified states or if he was simply too lazy to get around to it, though the many stacks of books and paperwork lining the walls of his long-untouched office tell a tale all their own.
Few Copies Left In The Wild
The last time that a similar Constitution auction was held was all the way back in 1891. Most remaining copies from the early years of the United States’ founding have since gone into the possession of museums and official governing bodies, leaving very few for private ownership. Additional items expected to go on sale alongside this lot include an original draft of the 1776 Articles of Confederation, as well as a 1788 journal depicting the events of North Carolina’s convention at Hillsborough.
A Piece Of American History Up For The Highest-Bidder
Obviously, this Constitution auction is a massive deal for collectors of early American relics or any history buff with a particular fascination with the founding fathers. Though it sounds like the sort of thing you’d expect to see in a National Treasure reboot, this auction and its contents are all too real.
Source: The Guardian
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