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, at least for those who are a United States citizen, is printed on this document (at least with the amendments). There are 11 known surviving copies of the first printing, and a recent auction from Sotheby’s on November 18, 2021. While the winning bid of $43.173 million was by billionaire Ken Griffin, the news that ConstitutionDAO almost won the auction may be the biggest change to date.
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. Let’s just say that the sale amount of $43,173,000 could have gone a long way buying stocks, bonds or real estate.
So what would have happened had the loosely organized ConstitutionalDAO actually won the bidding?
The “DAO” part of this stands for a “decentralized autonomous organization.” The goals of other DAOs to liberate intellectual property from academic journal paywalls may only be a part of what is coming down the road. CNN has explained that “DAOs” are set up by using blockchain, the backbone of cryptocurrency transactions. Forbes had reported that Constitution DAO had hoped to place this document in a museum or another public home.
Sotheby’s confirmed that the United States Constitution from the Goldman Collection was the only official printing of the U.S. Constitution known to still be in private hands.
The ConstitutionDAO.com site currently gives two choices for refunds. Those are either 1) claiming the $PEOPLE token back into wallets OR 2) redeeming $PEOPLE tokens in Ether at a ratio of 1 $ETH : 1,000,000 $PEOPLE, which is listed as “its original value (minus gas fees) at contribution.” The group’s remaining website still notes:
The community has taken all actions that it was organized to accomplish: we raised capital, we bid at Sotheby’s, and upon losing, we made full refunds available to the community as promised.
Are future DAOs coming? While the ConstitutionDAO is disbanding, they did note:
It is also an option to keep your $PEOPLE tokens and do with them as you please—it is clear that there are parts of the community who wish to incorporate them into future projects. ConstitutionDAO cannot and will not endorse any future plans for the token. Nothing in here is financial advice. Do your own research.
Having the last copy of the U.S. Constitution would be a dream of many collectors. It would certainly appeal to investors under fractional ownership. The RallyRd app had an initial public offering of $2 million in June 2021 for a 1776 “broadside” of the Declaration of Independence. They noted at the time that, back in 1776, it took several weeks for most colonists to hear the news that would form the basis of American democracy. Large single-sheet copies were printed called “broadsides” that were distributed. The broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence printed in Exeter, NH was after word finally reached the town on July 16 of that year. This piece was previously displayed at the National Constitution Center and was listed as just 1 of an estimated 20 privately-owned examples that has survived.
There is some provenance that made the latest auction for the Constitution copy. 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 estimate from Sotheby’s had been placed in a range of $15,000,000 to $20,000,000. With Ken Griffin and ConstitutionDAO involved, this sale doubled the estimate. As the old saying goes, everything has a price. One of the most sacred documents that the United States has produced was available for a collection.
