NEW YORK. - George Washington's copy of the U.S. Constitution was sold at a Christie's auction for $9.8 million. The leather bound book which includes notes by Washington himself was estimated at a price of $2 million, however the hand written footnotes and highlights by the country's first president is what got bidders to surpass its estimated value.
"Historians say Washington's notes are what make the book so valuable, as the president was keenly aware of the precedents he would set in office," according to BBC News.
The sale of this historic book has broken all records of any historic documents sold in the country.
The book was printed in 1789 and includes the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, the first acts of Congress including legislation to establish state, judiciary, defense and treasury departments of government. The 223 year old book is said to be excellent condition.
The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association won the piece of history in a bid of $9,826,500. The organization is the country's oldest national historic preservation organization, established in 1853 by Ann Pamela Cunningham. It is a private, non-profit organization that owns and maintains the George Washington estate in Virginia.
The spokeswoman for the organization said of their win, "It's an exciting day. We are thrilled to be able to bring this extraordinary book back to Mount Vernon where it belongs," as reported by BBC News.
The book will be displayed in the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington, which is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.
