A “very rare” original edition of the US Constitution, one of the most important books in American history, will be auctioned off later this year.
According to reports, Sotheby’s New York will hold an auction for the printed copy, one of just two in private hands, on December 13. The auction house estimates that the copy will sell for somewhere between $ 20 million and $ $30 million.
“The unprecedented sale result we achieved for the document last November was a truly unique and inspired moment”: Sotheby’s global head
Since this specific copy hasn’t appeared at an auction in more than 125 years, Sotheby’s is classifying it as “extremely rare.” It wasn’t seen by the general public for 35 years until a Stanford University display.
“The unprecedented sale result we achieved for the Constitution last November was a truly unique and inspired moment; one that signifies not only the extreme rarity of first printing copies of the Constitution available for private ownership but also the enduring importance and influence of the Constitution as the ultimate expression of the democratic principles that inform our daily lives more than 200 years since it was first written,” said Richard Austin, Sotheby’s global head of books and manuscripts.
The formal name of the document is “The Official Edition of the Constitution”
The other privately held copy of the Constitution was sold last year and earned a record amount of $43.2 million, according to Sotheby’s. The formal name of the document is “The Official Edition of the Constitution, the First Printing of the Final Text of the Constitution.”
At that moment, cryptocurrency group Constitution DAO and billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin fought tooth and nail for control of the copy, with the former coming out on top. In order to replace the older Articles of Confederation, George Washington presided over secret meetings where the US Constitution was drafted.