In 2022, Hayes Farm was in the midst of a clear out. The Edenton plantation had been owned by NC Governor Samuel Johnston and was purchased in 1865 by the Wood family, who lived there for seven generations — but the time had come to conserve the property and open it to the public. And as a historian scoured the rooms, taking inventory of furniture and antiques, he turned to a filing cabinet in an unused spare room. In the filing cabinet was a folder. In the folder was a copy of the US Constitution.
And this copy is about to go up for auction in Asheville, with a starting bid of $1 million. The auction for the document is being handled by Brunk Auctions, which has been in the city since the 1980s; its expertise in the artifacts of Americana made it a natural choice for facilitating such a momentous sale.
In the ash heap (filing cabinet?) of history
Now, you might be wondering at this point why a copy of the Constitution would garner such interest and such a high asking price. After all, you can buy a Constitution copy in nearly any DC gift shop (we’re resisting the urge to make a bunch of “National Treasure” jokes here).
But this isn’t just any copy, and some would argue that it’s even more important than the one you’ll see on display in the National Archives. It isn’t flashy or strewn with elegant signatures. It’s simple, slightly worn, and has only one name on it — that of Charles Thomson, the Secretary of Congress.
And it’s one of only eight surviving ratification copies and the only known copy in private hands. After the draft of the Constitution was finalized in 1787, the Confederation Congress sent it to be ratified by the states. Thomson made 100 copies of the printed archetype, and signed only a few of them.
Articles up for auction
After two years of authentication, research, and legal discussion, the document will go under the hammer on Saturday, Sept. 28 — the 237th anniversary of Congress passing the ratification resolution.
For a sale this significant, bidders have to go through a vetting process beforehand, but even so, it’s hard to know where this copy will end up. With modern technology, Lauren Brunk explained, bidders can stay anonymous. But pockets will have to be deep, because the document will likely fetch many millions of dollars.
Of course, Brunk Auctions is no stranger to valuable antiques; the Tunnel Road building out of which they operate is full of incredible objects and significant finds. But this will be an auction for the history books. Less than two weeks ago, the story was picked up by the Associated Press — and subsequently hit international headlines. A lost historical document and its cinematic discovery captured the world’s imagination.
Even so, people often do a mental double take when you tell them about it, Brunk told us. She explained the story to a friend, who accepted it with tepid interest — until the reality hit her. These copies were the Constitution coming to life, being made valid by (some of) the people it would govern. And for a moment at least, our little mountain city will play host to this piece of history.
Pro tip: If this Nicholas Cage-esque story has you inspired to give your garage a good cleaning or to scour some estate sales for hidden treasures, Brunk Auctions could help. Items you’d like examined can be submitted to the online portal. The team will give it an expert examination, then let you know if it’s something they’re interested in consigning.
