Magna Carta copy makes $21.3m at New York auction
Published December 19th, 2007
A rare copy of the Magna Carta, among the most important historical documents ever to hit the auction block, sold for $21.3 million on Tuesday at Sotheby’s.
The document was bought by Washington businessman David Rubenstein who said he was determined to see it remain in the US, where it has been on display at the National Archives since 1988.
The last remaining copy in the US and the last in private hands, the Magna Carta, one of 17 known to exist, was sold by The Perot Foundation, created by billionaire Ross Perot.
The foundation acquired it from the collections of the Brudenell family of Deene Park in Northamptonshire in 1984. When it announced the auction in September, Sotheby’s said the document was valued at up to $30m. The final $21.3m price included Sotheby’s commission.
The record for a document or manuscript at auction is held by Leonardo da Vinci’s “Codex” manuscript, which sold for $30.8m at Christie’s in 1994.
Related Articles Magna Carta copy to be auctioned in New YorkSothebys to auction 13th Century copy of Magna Carta$280,000 for copy of Christmas poemRare copy of Audubon’s Birds of America for auctionScientific books for Christie’s New York Auction
