$4 Flea-Market Art From 1776 Sold For A $1-Million

A man in Adamstown, Pennsylvania citizen bought an old painting for only $4 in a garage sale. His fortune turned when he removed the painting from the frame and found a copy of the Declaration of Independence underneath. Later, the same $4 painting, or the Declaration he found underneath, was sold for about $1 million. Shocking right? The discovery was announced by David N. Redden, head of the book and manuscript department at Sotheby’s in Manhattan. 

Story Behind The Buy

The man found the painting of a country scene at a garage sale. After removing the painting from its damaged frame, he found what appeared to be a copy of the Declaration of Independence in a very good condition. He got the painting verified by experts at an auction house who told him that the painting was printed on July 4th, 1776 by John Dunlap and was one of the 24 original copies intended to go out to each colony. The document was sold to the President of a Fine Arts investment firm for a whopping two million four hundred twenty thousand dollars.

The Painting

After the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration on July 4, 1776, the Philadelphia printer, John Dunlap, carried the news of independence to the people by printing approximately 200 such copies that were distributed to government leaders, the Army, and throughout the 13 Colonies.

The copy found behind the old painting is one of just 24 known to remain. It is printed in black ink on slightly yellowed rag paper 15 1/2-by-19 3/4 inches in size.

The Bid

This rare document was offered for sale by Sotheby’s on 4 June 1991, and the lucky find fetched even more than had been anticipated, estimates of $800,000 to $1.2 million turned into a $2.42 million sale eventually.

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