Signed by Thomas Jefferson
Stack’s Bowers Galleries has the pleasure of offering a remarkable piece of Numismatic Americana in Rarities Night of our August 2024 Global Showcase Auction. Lot 3005 features a print of the March 2, 1793 law appropriating funds for the purchase of the land and buildings that would become the Philadelphia Mint and authorizing its staff positions and their salaries. Thomas Jefferson signed the print in his capacity as Secretary of State and it was likely distributed from his office to another government member.
American Numismatic Rarities, a predecessor firm of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, auctioned this document in November 2006 when it realized $41,400.
Our cataloger offers this assessment of the document’s condition: “Another individual has inked Jefferson’s name at the broad right margin in the era, an official docketing that indicates from whom the document came. A later individual, during this document’s life as collectible, has bracketed the Mint-related content at left margin in pencil and rewritten the word ‘officers’ that was largely missing from the text. Several folds are seen, some producing areas of eternal weakness or closed splits. The horizontal folds are heaviest, producing a split at the right margin, though a vertical fold creates a central lacuna and affects the H of Th. in Jefferson’s autograph. Some toning is seen, but the overall visual appeal is excellent. The top margin is uneven, as issued. An ink notation left of SECOND has been struck out, leaving a stain on the verso.”
Even in a sale studded with desirable pieces of Numismatic Americana, this document stands out, capturing a seminal moment in the history of the U.S. Mint. With Jefferson’s signature, its appeal is broad, and it would make a fabulous complement to any advanced collection of U.S. numismatic material.
Lots in Rarities Night and the rest of the August 2024 Global Showcase Auction are available for viewing and pre-sale bidding at StacksBowers.com.
