Rare copy of Declaration of Independence goes on auction block

June 29, 2000
Web posted at: 9:57 a.m. EDT (1357 GMT)

By Phil Hirschkorn
CNN Correspondent

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rare 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence is being auctioned Thursday in what promises to be the most expensive sale of anything over the Internet.

Sotheby's is offering the document only over its Web site (www.sothebys.com) with bidding scheduled to run to 5 p.m. EDT.

	VIDEO
CNN's Daryn Kagan interviews David Redden, vice chairman of Sotheby's. QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

"It is the cornerstone document in the history of world freedom. It's as close as you can get to the founding of our country," Sotheby's Vice Chairman David Redden in an interview with CNN.

The document, in near mint condition, is one of 25 known surviving copies of the official first printing of the Declaration adopted by the Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776.

"This was how Congress voted to disseminate the news of independence. So it was printed up from Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration and then sent around by couriers to the armies in the field, to the newly independent colonies, to the committees of public safety and surely to the British too," Redden said.

The copy for sale is one of only four in private hands. The other three have been promised to institutions.

Twenty-one existing copies already belong to universities, historical societies, public libraries, and city halls.

The National Archives has a copy, along with the original parchment, handwritten version that is on display in Washington, D.C.

Sale could set Internet record

Sotheby's estimates the Declaration's price will fall between $4 and $6 million, which would be a record for anything sold over the Internet.

The centerpiece of the old Boston Garden basketball court sold for $331,000 over www.sothebys.com earlier this month, establishing an Internet sales record, according to Sotheby's.

When asked who the buyer could be, Redden said, "Given the state of our extraordinary wealth in this country today, I am certain it is going to be an American. It is probably going to be a private individual or a foundation."

The document for sale wasn't discovered until 1989, when a Philadelphia man bought a four dollar picture at a flea market. He found the document in between a painting and the back of the frame and took it to Sotheby's, which sold the document for $2.42 million at a live auction in June 1991.

"I think this is a living document. The words in this document are the words that knocked down the Berlin Wall," said then-buyer Donald Scheer, who is now the seller.

"It is unlikely there will be another one for sale," Redden said.

There won't any impulse buyers: all Internet bidders must have pre-registered with Sotheby's by Tuesday.

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