One of only a handful of copies of the U.S. Constitution ever ratified Auctioned Late this month The starting bid is $1 million.
A North Carolina homeowner found the document while rummaging through an old filing cabinet as he prepared to sell his house, which stands on land purchased in the 1700s by then-Governor Samuel Johnston.
According to the auction house, the item is a copy of the original printed document, signed by then Secretary of State for Parliament Charles Thomson.
The auction, scheduled for Sept. 28, is the only auction to offer a copy of the signed and ratified document since 1891, according to the auction house.
“It is unclear whether the manuscript still exists and, if so, whether it is among the eight currently known institutionally held manuscripts,” the list states.
The current bid for the piece is $1 million, but the auction house expects the next bid to be more than $1.1 million, according to its website.
