Rare Signed Ratification Copy of the U.S. Constitution, Recently Discovered in North Carolina, Heads to Auction

ASHEVILLE, N.C. and NEW YORK, Sep. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- An incredibly rare, original printed archetype of the United States Constitution, signed by Secretary of Congress Charles Thomson, will be auctioned on September 28, 2024, in Asheville, North Carolina at Brunk Auctions. The auction will begin with a starting bid of $1 million, without reserve. It is expected to sell for much more.

This revolutionary document is one of only eight known surviving signed ratification copies of the United States Constitution, and the only known in private hands. The last and only other recorded sale of a similar document was in 1891.

The ratification copy of the Constitution will be sold at Brunk Auctions on September 28, the 237^th anniversary of the day Congress passed the ratification resolution.

Drafted in Philadelphia and signed by the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, the proposed Constitution was delivered on September 18, 1787 to the Confederation Congress that was then meeting in New York on the site that is now the Federal Hall National Memorial at 26 Wall Street. After heated debate, on September 28 Congress resolved to send it to the states for ratification. To that end, Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress, ordered 100 copies of the printed archetype, only a fraction of which he signed for sending to the legislatures of the 13 original states. It is that resolution, along with Thomson's signature, that makes the present copy an official ratification edition of the Constitution.

This incredibly rare document was discovered in 2022 at Hayes Farm, a 184-acre plantation in Edenton, North Carolina. The property was purchased in 1765 by Samuel Johnston, who in 1787-1789 was governor of North Carolina and presided over the state's two ratification conventions. In 1865, it was acquired by the Wood family, which has held it for seven generations. The document was found inside an old filing cabinet in 2022 when the property was being cleared out and sold to North Carolina for preservation under the care of the Elizabeth Vann Moore Foundation with assistance from the Edenton Historical Commission and the Town of Edenton.  

Previously, most of the books, documents and artifacts from the home were donated to North Carolina, and a recreation of the Hayes Library was built at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

According to auctioneer Andrew Brunk, "James Madison wrote that the Constitution 'was nothing more than a draft of a plan, nothing but a dead letter, until life and validity were breathed into it by the voice of the people, speaking through several State Conventions.'" Brunk added, "this simple looking version is what started breathing life into the Constitution."

Seth Kaller, a renowned historic document expert who is collaborating with Brunk on the sale, noted that "This is a unique opportunity to own a cornerstone of our democracy, particularly at this time in our nation's history. It also reminds us of the crucial role New York played in the founding of America."  

Kaller was involved in bidding on the Constitutional Convention printing that Sotheby's sold on November 18, 2021 for $43.2 million to Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel, LLC. In 1988, that same document had sold for $165,000. According to Kaller, "The ratification copy now up for auction is rarer and arguably more significant, but the consignor gave Brunk the luxury of selling it without reserve, with a starting bid of $1,000,000. The market will decide what the Constitution is worth to us today."

The public will be able to view the document on Friday, September 13 from 1:00 – 4:30 PM at Federal Hall National Memorial at 26 Wall Street in New York, the location where the Confederation Congress met in September of 1787 and resolved to send the Constitution to the States for ratification.

For more details about the September 28^th auction, contact [email protected] or visit www.brunkauctions.com.

For additional information about Seth Kaller and historic documents, visit www.sethkaller.com or thepromiseofliberty.org.

Additional images available at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/nzzdhlg3qafxctcncucuu/ALcNOqXdvqEfCXKfVR5ZB-4?rlkey=4esprq6fdq97jy7h2izqcfsqx&dl=0

NEWS CONFERENCE AND UNVEILING

DATE: Friday, September 13, 2024
TIME: 11:00 AM
LOCATION:  Federal Hall National Memorial*, 26 Wall Street, New York, NY
DETAILS: Seth Kaller, historic document expert, and Andrew Brunk of Brunk Auctions will provide the historic significance of the document and detail how and when it was found and identified as well as what to anticipate at the auction. The document will be viewable at the news conference.

*After 237 years, the document will be unveiled to the public on the site where the Confederation Congress met in 1787 and resolved to send the Constitution to the States for ratification.

RSVP: Risa Hoag, [email protected] 

Media Contact: Risa Hoag, GMGPR, 845-627-3000, Ext 1, [email protected]

SOURCE Brunk Auctions