A remarkable piece of American history, a 237-year-old copy of the United States Constitution, was sold for an astonishing $9 million at an auction in North Carolina last week. The document, discovered in a filing cabinet on a plantation, is one of only about 100 copies printed by the secretary of the Continental Congress in 1787.
The auction, held by Brunk Auctions in Asheville, took place after a delay caused by Hurricane Helene. Bidding started at $500,000 and quickly escalated, with the final bid reaching $9 million within just seven minutes. Auctioneer Andrew Brunk noted a brief pause at $8.5 million before the gavel came down.
The final price, including the buyer's premium, totaled $11,070,000, although the identity of the buyer remains undisclosed. Brunk remarked on the extraordinary journey of the document, stating, "To go from a filing cabinet in Edenton, North Carolina to being sold for $11 million is quite a journey."
This particular Constitution copy was found at Hayes Farm, a historic plantation once owned by Samuel Johnston, North Carolina's governor during the Constitution's ratification. Alongside the Constitution, auctioneers sold a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation for $1 million.
Historically, the last auction of a similar Constitution copy occurred in 1891 for just $400. In 2021, a different copy sold for a staggering $43.2 million at Sotheby's, setting a record for a book or document.