A Rare Copy of the 13th Amendment Signed by Abraham Lincoln Sells for a Record $13.7 Million
Kenneth Griffin, the billionaire art collector and hedge fund founder, purchased the document that abolished slavery, as well as a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation
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A handwritten copy of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution signed by Abraham Lincoln has sold at auction for a record $13.7 million. It’s the highest price ever paid for a document signed by the nation’s 16th president, reports the Wall Street Journal’s Kelly Crow.
The buyer was billionaire art collector and hedge fund founder Kenneth Griffin, who intends to loan the document, which abolished slavery when it was ratified in 1865, to an American institution, according to Sotheby’s, the auction house that organized the sale. He also purchased a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation for $4.4 million, setting a new record for the 1863 edict that freed enslaved people living in the Confederate states.
Griffin wanted to add the two documents to his collection because they “marked a profound step forward, abolishing the scourge of slavery and advancing the ideal that all people are created equal,” he says in a statement shared by Sotheby’s.
Quick facts: Historical documents at auction
- The previous record for the 13th Amendment was $2.4 million, which was set in 2016.
- The previous record for the Emancipation Proclamation was $3.8 million, which was set in 2010.
“As America approaches its 250th anniversary, we all have a part to play to strengthen and renew the promise of our nation,” he adds. “Each generation must experience the sacred documents of our democracy—to learn from them and be inspired to carry our country forward.”
Griffin’s version of the 13th Amendment consists of a single sheet of vellum, per the Wall Street Journal. It’s one of nine signed by Lincoln and the congressmen and senators who passed it for ratification by the states, according to Sotheby’s. Of those nine, only four—including Griffin’s—are owned by private collectors, and his copy features the highest number of legislator signatures, according to Sotheby’s.
His Emancipation Proclamation, meanwhile, is one of 48 copies sold for $10 each to help support the United States Sanitary Commission, which was established in 1861 to provide medical care and support for Union soldiers.
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The group was “one of Lincoln’s favorite charities in D.C.,” writes Petula Dvorak for the Washington Post, so he autographed dozens of copies. They were sold at a fundraising fair in 1864, a year after he issued the original proclamation. Only 27 of the Sanitary Commission copies—including Griffin’s—are known to survive, per Sotheby’s.
In 2021, Griffin paid $43.2 million for a copy of the U.S. Constitution, making it one of the most expensive documents ever sold. In May, the Florida-based businessman announced he would lend the Constitution to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia for public display during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations, as the Associated Press’ Glen Gamboa reported.
“The authors of the Constitution had incredible foresight in designing a system of government that has withstood the test of time and now, more than ever, protects the American Dream,” said Griffin in a statement in May.
