Rare copy of Declaration of Independence sells for $8.1 million

June 29, 2000
Web posted at: 6:48 p.m. EDT (2248 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A rare 1776 printing of the Declaration of Independence sold for $8.1 million Thursday in a live Internet auction on Sotheby's Web site.

The final bid was $7.4 million in bidding that extended 40-minutes beyond the scheduled deadline. With a flat 10 percent commission on Internet sales, the total price came to $8,140,000.

The buyer's identity was not immediately disclosed.

Document in near mint condition

"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 said 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.

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

"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 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.

Copy discovered in 1989

The document that was auctioned wasn't discovered until 1989, when a Philadelphia man bought a $4 picture at a flea market. He found the document 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.

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

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