Slavery-Ending Documents Signed by Lincoln Could Fetch $18 Million
- Editor OGN Daily
- Jun 20
- 1 min read
Two era-defining documents that ended slavery and reshaped United States history are going under the hammer next week.
A rare copy of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Emancipation Proclamation will be going under the hammer at Sotheby’s, as a part of the house’s Fine Books and Manuscripts event in New York. And as if those offerings weren’t significant enough on their own, both pieces were signed by none other than Abraham Lincoln himself, making the duo the most valuable copies of each document to ever come to the block.
The copies of the 13th Amendment (estimated at $8 million to $12 million) and the Emancipation Proclamation (estimated at $3 million to $5 million) are both signed by President Abraham Lincoln - and the landmark documents, rarely seen together, will headline Sotheby’s auction in New York on 26 June.
They offer deep-pocketed collectors a rare glimpse into the enduring legacy of Lincoln’s vision for the legal abolition of slavery. While the Emancipation Proclamation introduced partial emancipation, the 13th Amendment was the first instance in which abolition was enshrined in U.S. law.
Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 Jan 1863, and the 13th Amendment on 1 Feb. 1865. The latter’s ratification in 1865 also marked the first change to the Constitution in 60 years.
According to Sotheby’s, the documents are considered the most valuable copies of their kind ever to reach auction. Their appearance together at the event commemorates a pivotal moment in the nation’s history, as well as Lincoln’s commitment to ending slavery - an act he considered his greatest achievement as president.
