A long-lost copy of the U.S. Constitution, printed 237 years ago and sent to the states for ratification, was sold for $9 million in a North Carolina auction on Thursday evening. The document, one of only eight known to still exist and the only privately owned copy, was discovered in a filing cabinet during a property cleanout in 2022.
Historic Auction After Unexpected Discovery
The auction, held by Brunk Auctions, took just over seven minutes, with bids climbing in $500,000 increments. The final bid of $9 million was made over the phone, though the buyer’s identity has not been revealed. Auctioneer Andrew Brunk called the event “a privilege,” after the auction had been delayed by Hurricane Helene.
The rare document, printed in 1787 after the Constitutional Convention, was one of around 100 copies created by Charles Thomson, secretary of the Congress. The document includes a letter from George Washington urging ratification, acknowledging necessary compromises for the nation’s health.
A Journey Through History
The Constitution was found in a metal filing cabinet during a clear-out of a long-neglected room in the historic Edenton, North Carolina home once owned by Samuel Johnston, governor of North Carolina at the time of the state’s ratification of the Constitution. Its whereabouts between 1787 and 2022 remain unknown.
Other High-Value Sales
The auction also featured other rare historical documents, including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which sold for $1 million, and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina for $85,000.
A Historic Market
Auction officials had been unsure how much the Constitution copy would fetch, with little precedent for such sales. In 2021, Sotheby’s sold one of the 14 remaining copies printed for the Continental Congress for a record-breaking $43.2 million. The last sale of a state-ratified Constitution copy before that was for just $400 in 1891.
