A rare copy of the U.S. Constitution, printed 237 years ago and sent to the states for ratification, is set to be auctioned Thursday evening in North Carolina. Brunk Auctions is managing the sale of this unique artifact, believed to be the only one of its type in private ownership. Bidding has already opened with a minimum bid of $1 million, with no set minimum price that must be reached to finalize the sale.
This particular copy was produced shortly after the Constitutional Convention completed drafting the proposed framework of the U.S. government in 1787. The document was then forwarded to the Congress of the underperforming first American government under the Articles of Confederation, along with a request to distribute it to the states for ratification by their citizens.
Approximately 100 copies of the Constitution were printed by Charles Thomson, the secretary of that Congress. Today, only eight of these copies are known to exist, with the other seven housed in public institutions. Thomson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, effectively certifying them.
The history of the document up for auction between Thomson’s signature and 2022 remains a mystery. Its recent rediscovery occurred two years ago during a property clear-out in Edenton, eastern North Carolina. The property had once been owned by Samuel Johnston, the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789, who oversaw the state convention that ratified the Constitution during his last year in office.
The copy was found inside a squat, two-drawer metal filing cabinet in a neglected room piled with old chairs and a dusty bookcase. The broad sheet, which could be folded once like a book, included the Constitution printed front and back. Accompanying the Constitution was a letter from George Washington, urging ratification and recognizing the need for compromise and the surrender of certain state rights for the nation’s long-term health.
Auction officials remain uncertain about the final selling price due to the lack of comparable sales. The last known sale of a Constitution copy sent to the states was for $400 in 1891. More recently, in 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one of the remaining 14 copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention delegates for $43.2 million, setting a record for a book or document.
Other historic items up for auction in Asheville include a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough. This journal details the representatives’ two-week debate over whether ratifying the Constitution would centralize too much power at the national level.
Originally set for September 28, the auction was delayed by Brunk Auctions due to catastrophic damage caused by Hurricane Helene throughout Asheville and the North Carolina mountains.