The United States Constitution is a sacred document that is revered by many nations to this day. All the rights of any individual reading this as a United States citizen is printed on this document, at least with the amendments. There are 11 known surviving copies of the first printing. One of these surviving copies is coming to auction at Sotheby’s this November.

Sotheby’s has the collection of Dorothy Tapper Goldman up for grabs on November 23, 2021. And according to the auction house, the United States Constitution from the Goldman Collection is tallied up as the only official printing of the U.S. Constitution that is still in private hands. So, barring a fire sale by one of the public holders needing cash this may be the only opportunity for any private owner to own a first printing.

This may not be the only official printing of the U.S. Constitution, but it may be the last chance anyone ever gets to buy one.

Many collectors and (and likely investors) will have this crucial document in their sights. According to the Robb Report, Dorothy Goldman inherited the rare document from her late husband. He had originally purchased it from a Philadelphia based private collector in 1988 for the fine sum of $165,000 at that time.

The first edition document’s estimate has been placed in a range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000. This prized piece of history can be yours.

Collectors Dashboard evaluates high-end collectibles as an alternative asset class. This means collectibles are attracting the same capital that could have been invested into stocks or bonds. If the estimate even of $15 million on the low-end is accurate, that could have gone a long way buying stocks or bonds.

What makes a piece like this so interesting is that there are collectors who will want to own a collectible like this for years. They just might not have the money to own it. And on top of $15 million or so being a large sum, the collectors who can afford it may have to compete directly against investors whose only desire is to buy it now and sell for a profit in the future.

As the old saying goes, everything has a price. The most sacred document that the United States has produced is available for a collection. Perhaps the best question to come from this sale is how to display it once it is owned. Somehow a really nice matting or professional framing does not seem to do justice for such a document.

There are many other historical documents that are coming up for grabs in the same auction. There are official printing, ratifications, drafts, state constitutions and more that can be won. These include some of the following:

• official printings of the Stamp Act and other Parliamentary legislation that the colonists found “intolerable”;
• an early printing of the Articles of Confederation;
• the first book-form printing of the Declaration of Independence;
• an oath of allegiance to the United States (and of dis-allegiance to George III) signed at Valley Forge by Trench Tilghman, aide-de-camp to George Washington;
• a rare thick-paper copy of the first edition of The Federalist, which collected the pseudonymous essays written in support of ratification by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay;
• the House of Representative draft of the Bill of Rights, which included seventeen amendments;
• a state constitutions of Pennsylvania from 1776);
• a state constitutions of New York from 1777;
• a state constitutions of Massachusetts from 1780);
• two editions of the Constitution printed for the use of the Congress, signed by successive Presidents Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce and many more items…

(Image courtesy of Sotheby’s)