A rare 237-year-old copy of the US Constitution was sold for$ 9 million at an auction in North Carolina, conducted by Brunk Auctions. on Thursday. The personality of the consumer, who participated in the private price, remains unknown.
The bid lasted just over seven hours, with requests increasing by$ 500, 000 intervals primarily over the telephone. The highest bid was$ 9 million. The Associated Press quoted actor Andrew Brunk as saying,” Only another second or two.” At$ 9 million, enjoy the slightest sale. He further added,” It’s a pleasure to have it here. It’s been quite a ride”.
Due to the severe injury that Hurricane Helene had already caused in Asheville and western North Carolina, the auction was postponed until September 28.
The extraordinary document times up to 1787, when it was printed following the Constitutional Convention’s completion of the world’s constitution and its submission to the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. This version is one of about 100 published by Charles Thomson, the Congress director, with just eight known to exist nowadays. The remaining seven are owned by the public.
The report was discovered two years ago during the opening of a home in Edenton, North Carolina, which was once owned by Samuel Johnston, North Carolina’s government from 1787 to 1789. It was discovered in a deteriorating room’s steel filing cabinet.
A notice from George Washington to the Constitution is included in this version that urges acceptance. He spoke about the need for sacrifice and the value of a strong central government.
A 1776 draft of the Articles of Confederation, which sold for$ 1 million, and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina, which sold for$ 85, 000, were other high-value items at the auction.
Due to the lack of similar sales, auction officials were unaware of the article’s worth. A comparable document was previously sold for$ 400 in 1891. In 2021, Sotheby’s sold a unique version of the Constitution for$ 43.2 million, setting a document.
However, in 2021, Sotheby’s in New York auctioned one of the 14 surviving classic editions of the Constitution, printed for the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention members, for$ 43.2 million, setting a new history for the purchase of a book or report.
