London: A rare copy of the United States constitution got sold on Thursday for 43.2 million dollars, a record price for a printed document, Reuters reported. The auction house Sotheby's, meanwhile, informed that crowdfunded cryptocurrency enthusiasts lost the bid.
But the identity of the winner was not out as well as why the cryptocurrency enthusiasts, "ConstituionDAO", fell short in the bid since the latter had amassed more than 47 million dollars through crowdfunding. Constitution DAO tweeted that contributors will receive a refund minus transaction fees. Sotheby's said that it was the largest crowdfunding initiative ever.
The document was the rare first edition of the US constitution, which was adopted in 1787. It is one of the eleven existing copies and the only one still in private hands. It came out of the official first printing of the final text of the constitution as adopted in Philadelphia and submitted to the Continental Congress for review. It had been estimated to be worth 15 million to 20 million dollars by Sotheby's. It was sold for 1,65,000 in 1988 and was acquired by late S Howard, a New York real estate developer and collector of antique documents.
The winning price was 41 million dollars, but the final price of 43.2 million includes overheads and other costs. The sale proceeds are to benefit a charitable foundation in the name of Howard's wife, Sotheby's said.