#19: The Lincoln Emancipation Proclamation Signed Copy (1864)
Lincoln signed multiple manuscript copies of the Emancipation Proclamation for charitable auctions during the Civil War. One such copy sold in 2010 for $3.7 million. Each represents Lincoln’s deliberate hand putting his name to what he called the central act of his administration. Their rarity, combined with their historical gravity, places them among the most significant American documents that occasionally enter the private market.
