Long-lost copy of United States Constitution rediscovered in a filing cabinet

Last time one found was 1893

A long-lost copy of the United States Constitution rediscovered in a filing cabinet is about to go under the hammer. The document is one of around 100 copies ordered on September 28, 1787—only eight of which are known to have survived.

The document resurfaced two years ago during an estate cleanout at Hayes Farm in North Carolina, buried among strewn-about chairs and a worn bookcase. The text once belonged to Samuel Johnston, who served as North Carolina’s governor from 1787 to 1789.¹

Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina says online bidding for the 237-year-old document has already reached $1 million ahead of the sale on September 28.²

'The sky is the limit as far as bidding goes'

The copy appeared two years ago when the Hayes Plantation, a North Carolina property once owned by the state’s governor and later senator Samuel Johnston, was being cleaned out ahead of its sale. Johnston represented the state at the Continental Congress and presided over the state’s conventions to ratify the Constitution. It was found inside a metal filing cabinet in a seldom-used room filled with chairs and bookcases.

The four-page folio was one of 100 copies hurriedly created on September 28, 1787, in New York by printer John McLean on behalf of the Philadelphia printer Claypoole.

Of the 100 copies, only eight are known to exist, with the other seven held by institutions such as the National Archives, the New York State Archives, and Brown University. This copy is signed on the fourth page by the then secretary of Congress, Charles Thomson.

1. Binswanger, Julia. This Forgotten Copy of the Constitution Discovered in a Filing Cabinet Could Sell for Millions. Smithsonian Magazine. September 13, 2024.

2. Whiddington, Richard. A Rare Copy of the U.S. Constitution Found in a Filing Cabinet Could Make Millions at Auction Artnet. September 10, 2024.