Rare First-Edition Copy of U.S. Constitution Up For Auction

A rare first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution is set to hit the auction block next month, CBS reports.

Sotheby’s announced the historical document will be auctioned during a dedicated live sale on December 13.

After a historic auction just over a year ago, Sotheby’s is pleased to announce the auction of the only remaining first printing of the United States Constitution in private hands!

Learn more about the sale on 13 December: https://t.co/08K33Avhvo pic.twitter.com/IxyeyDzOzp

— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) November 1, 2022

In a press release from Sotheby’s, the auction house revealed that the document is one of only two known copies in private hands – and just one of 13 copies known to exist. The other 11 are in public government collections.

The announcement follows the historic November 2021 sale at Sotheby’s of the Goldman Constitution, the other privately owned copy of the official first printing of the Constitution, when it sold for a milestone $43.2 million and established a new record for any book, manuscript, or printed text sold at auction.

“The unprecedented sale result we achieved for the Constitution last November was a truly unique and inspired moment – one that signifies not only the extreme rarity of first printing copies of the Constitution available for private ownership, but also the enduring importance and influence of the Constitution as the ultimate expression of the democratic principles that inform our daily lives more than 200 years since it was first written,” said Richard Austin, Sotheby’s Global Head of Books & Manuscripts, in a press release. “A year later after the record-breaking sale, we hope the remarkable opportunity to acquire one of two privately owned copies of the Constitution will inspire a similar response that galvanized the public last year.”