One Of The Only Original U.S. Constitution Copies Still In Private Hands Is Up For Sale

Topline

One of only two known copies of the U.S. Constitution’s first printing left in private collections will go up for sale December, a year after the other surviving copy fetched a record $43.2 million at auction from billionaire Ken Griffin, who outbid a group of cryptocurrency enthusiasts called ConstitutionDAO who crowdfunded to purchase the document.

Key Facts

Sotheby’s says the rare Constitution copy, which was among those printed for the members of the Constitutional Convention who drafted it in 1787, is expected to sell for between $20 million and $30 million, which matches the largest estimate ever placed on a historic document, the auction house said.

This copy of the Constitution last appeared at auction in 1894, and it appears to be the first print that 19th century historical and collecting communities recognized as an official first edition of the document, Sotheby’s said.

There are only 13 known copies of the official printing produced for the delegates, Sotheby’s said, with 11 of those copies held by official institutions or government collections.

The only other that remains in private hands is the Goldman Constitution, the copy Griffin purchased during another Sotheby’s auction in November 2021, which was subsequently loaned out to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, for an exhibit.

Big Number

$43.2 million. That’s how much Griffin spent last year on the Goldman Constitution, the only other surviving copy still privately owned. It set a record for any book, manuscript, or printed text sold at auction, according to Sotheby’s. Griffin also outbid ConstitutionDAO, a decentralized autonomous online group that raised more than $40 million from 17,000 contributors in Ether cryptocurrency to purchase the document. Griffin is worth about $31.1 billion, according to Forbes’ estimates.

What To Watch For

If ConstitutionDAO will make a comeback in an attempt to buy the document. “Scott Fitzgerald said there’s no second acts in American lives,” Selby Kiffer, Sotheby’s International’s senior specialist for books and manuscripts, told Forbes, adding that the rare second chance to buy a copy of the Constitution is “exactly the sort of thing that I think could inspire [ConstitutionDAO] to reform or galvanize another similar group.”

Crucial Quote

“If you have interest, I would put on your battle armor and be ready to fight for this one,” Kiffer said to potential buyers.

Surprising Fact

Copies of the Constitution have a universal appeal, Kiffer told Forbes. During last year’s auction of the Goldman Constitution, not all bidders were collectors of rare books and manuscripts, he said, noting that Griffin is more well known for his modern and contemporary art collections. The Constitution is also popular regardless of bidders’ political beliefs. “What you find about the Constitution is that wherever someone is on the political spectrum, it’s their constitution. They understand it, they interpret it correctly, and it’s the other side that gets it wrong,” he told Forbes. Rare U.S. Constitutions even have a global appeal, he said, telling Forbes that not all underbidders on the Goldman Constitution were American.

Tangent

A first printing of the Constitution is “considerably rarer” than the equivalent of a Declaration of Independence copy, one of the few comparable historical documents in terms of significance and influence, according to Sotheby’s. One sold at auction last year for nearly $4.5 million.

Key Background

While 500 copies of the 1787 printing of the constitution’s final text were produced by John Dunlap and David Claypoole, the Constitutional Convention’s official printers, only a handful have survived to the present day, according to Sotheby’s. The vast majority are held in state archives, historical societies and other official institutions or their original recipients’ designated repositories, like at the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia, which was founded by Benjamin Franklin.

Further Reading

Billionaire Ken Griffin Outbids Group Of Crypto Investors For Rare Copy Of U.S. Constitution (Forbes)

What Is A DAO—And Why Is One Trying To Buy The U.S. Constitution? (Forbes)