Rare original copy of US constitution auctioned for $43 mn – Macau Business

An extremely rare original copy of the US constitution was sold Thursday for $43 million a world record for a historical document at auction, Sothebys said.

It is one of only 11 known surviving copies of the US charter, signed on September 17, 1787 at Philadelphias Independence Hall by Americas founding fathers, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison and ratified the following year.

The winning bidder was not immediately identified.

A group of cryptocurrency investors had raised $40 million to buy the document but failed to secure the document, this consortium said.

A Sothebys spokesman said the sale for $43.2 million including commissions was a world record for a historical document offered at auction.

Selby Kiffer, a manuscripts and ancient books expert at Sothebys, said in September that this copy was probably part of an edition of 500 printed on the eve of the signing.

This one was the only one in private hands, Kiffer said.

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Rare original copy of US constitution auctioned for $43 mn - Macau Business