A sale like no other. On September 17, Sotheby’s indicated that an original copy of the American Constitution, ratified on September 17, 1787, was going to be auctioned.
This exceptional document is part of a collection dating from the revolution between 1776 and 1789. The most important item in the sale, the Constitution could go for an estimated sum of between 15 and 20 million dollars. The opportunity for buyers to recover a real piece of history signed by George Washington or even Benjamin Franklin.
According to Selby Kiffer, historian specializing in manuscripts and old books from the Sotheby’s house, only “eleven known copies” remain, out of the 500 copies that had been printed according to experts. On display until Sunday, the document will go on sale at the end of November.
A record to beat?
For the moment, the copy belongs to the collector Dorothy Tapper. Her foundation, The Dorothy Tapper Goldman Foundation, is committed to education about American democracy and citizen participation.
This is not the first time that this kind of document has been auctioned. In 2012, a book containing the Constitution or the “Bill of Right” that belonged to George Washington was sold for $ 9.8 million, which was then a record for a historic American document. It remains to be seen whether the amount will be beaten at the end of November.
