First Edition Copy of U.S. Constitution Sells for $43.2 Million After Bidding War

A rare first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution has sold for $43.2 million at Sotheby’s this week. The sale was made to a private collector that outbid an online cryptocurrency collective that aimed to purchase the copy.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a rare first-edition copy of the U.S. Constitution sold for $43.2 million at Sotheby’s this week, but the sale was not made to the group of cryptocurrency investors that have been attempting to raise funds to purchase the copy.

ConstitutionDAO, a cryptocurrency collective, pooled more than $40 million in an effort to purchase the copy of the constitution but during the bidding process an anonymous phone bidder pledged even more and purchased one of the 13 official copies of the Constitution in existence.

The sale of the Constitution marks the priciest six-page sale in auction history, which has surpassed Microsoft co-founder Bill Gate’s purchase of Leonardo da Vinci’s scientific notebook for $30.8 million. The purchase of the Constitution also exceeded the $21.3 million paid for the 1297 Magna Carta by Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein.- READ MORE