Treasures long forgotten by history have been uncovered beneath the surface in underground digs or hidden away in attics or storage spaces. In the case of a rare document nearly 237 years old, it was in a nondescript squat metal filing cabinet that had been sitting discarded and gathering dust in an eastern North Carolina home for who knows how long.

Two years ago, a property was being cleared out in Edenton, North Carolina when a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution was found. 

The rare piece of American history — the only U.S. Constitution of its kind thought to be in private hands – will go up for auction by Brunk Auctions on Sept. 28 in Asheville, North Carolina. The minimum bid for the auction of $1 million has already been made and it is expected to go for a much higher price tag.

The uncovering of history

The copy up for auction was discovered at Hayes Farm, an 184-acre plantation in Edenton once owned by Samuel Johnston. He was the governor of North Carolina from 1787 to 1789 and oversaw the state convention that ratified the Constitution.

“There’s been a long period where this house and library have been recognized as a very important repository for history and historic documents and objects,” Brunk said.

In the 1980s, most of the books, documents and artifacts from the home — some going back to Johnston — were donated to the state of North Carolina and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Seth Kaller, a historical document appraiser and collector, said while going through the house’s contents in 1983, the family found a rare copy of the Declaration of Independence that was sold at auction for a then-record price of $412,500.

The filing cabinet, for some reason, was not sorted through, and the U.S. Constitution remained unseen for another four decades. In 2022, while the property was being cleared out and sold to North Carolina, which is converting it into a public historic site.

The history behind it

On Sept. 18, 1787, the drafted proposal for what would be the framework of the U.S. Constitution was sent to the Confederation Congress for discussion and approval. After a heated debate at the site of what today is the Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City, Congress resolved to send it to the states for ratification.

Charles Thomas, the secretary of that Congress, ordered 100 copies printed — and only signed a fraction of them. Of those that he signed, only a handful are known to still be in existence.

This copy of the U.S. Constitution is one of those handful he signed. Historians believe Thompson likely signed two copies for each of the original 13 states, essentially certifying them. These were set to special ratifying conventions where representatives would then wrangle for months before accepting the framework of the U.S. government that continues today.

“This is the point of connection between government and people, and it’s the moment when the idea of ‘we the people’ really takes hold,” auctioneer Andrew Brunk said of the document, adding: “This is the moment the government is asking the people to empower the government and create, you know, the essential government, but it’s the will of the people that you know they’re waiting for it. That’s what this document captures.”

Along with the Constitution on the broadsheet printed front and back is a letter from Washington asking for ratification. He acknowledged there would have to be compromise and that rights the states enjoyed would have to be given up for the nation’s long-term health.

“To secure all rights of independent sovereignty to each and yet provide for the interest and safety for all — individuals entering into society must give up a share of liberty to preserve the rest,” wrote the man who would become the first U.S. president.

“What’s really incredible about the Constitution is that they didn’t write a plan of government just for them based on what they knew, but they wrote a plan of government that was forward-looking, and that was the first time a government’s being invented with the idea that it’s going to need to be amended and change,” Kaller said. 

Brunk said he isn’t sure what the document might go for because there is so little to compare it to. The last copy of the Constitution like this sold was for $400 in 1891.

In 2021, Sotheby’s of New York sold one of only 14 remaining copies of the Constitution printed for the Continental Congress and delegates to the Constitutional Convention for a record $43.2 million.

Other items up for auction

While the Constitution is the main attraction, there are other items up for auction in Asheville including a 1776 first draft of the Articles of Confederation and a 1788 Journal of the Convention of North Carolina at Hillsborough where representatives spent two weeks debating if ratifying the Constitution would put too much power with the nation instead of the states.

Kaller said the draft of the Articles of Confederation is presumed to have been owned by Joseph Hewes, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence who was known to have stayed in Johnston’s home. The word “Confederation” is inked in the back of the document in the hand of Hewes.

There is also a reproduction of Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s 1851 version of his famous painting, Washington Crossing the Delaware. It is believed to be a 19th-century German copy of the painting.