A Document That Inspired The Bill Of Rights Could Be Sold For Millions
This document you see here as the catalyst for the Bill of Rights.
Considering its impact, it is now estimated to sell for anywhere between US$3 million and US$5 million at a momentous auction announced by Sotheby’s in time for Independence Day.
Found within a copy of Virginia’s ratification, the to-be-auctioned document lists the 10 amendments of the United States’ constitution. It was previously held for 30 years in the collection of David Karpeles, a manuscript collector who passed away in January.
The yellowed document is signed and dated to June 1788 when the important passages and notes eventually became the foundation of the Bill of Rights, one of the three founding documents of the nation. The document was the nucleus of the ratification in Virginia upon which the solid foundation of the country was built on.
There are only three copies of this historic document. The sale of this record comes after the auctioning of a first edition of the US constitution last year that sold for US$43.2 million to billionaire Ken Griffin. A significant document such as this is sure to have collectors everywhere fighting to own it.
The proceeds of the sale will go to the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museums, which houses the largest collection of manuscripts and documents in the US.
Currently, the manuscript is on display in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries in Manhattan from July 12 to July 20.
