Norcross family wins $3.6M bid for rare copy of Declaration of Independence

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has sold at auction for more than $3.6 million.

Goldin, a Camden County-based auction house, announced that the July 1776 Exeter Broadside Declaration of Independence sold for $3,646,443 during its USA 250th Anniversary Historical Auction on Wednesday night.

The auction attracted 23 bids after opening June 2 with a starting bid of $1 million.

The founding document is said to be one of the few surviving, legible broadside copies in existence.

The sale was part of a collection of historic American items that also included an Albert Einstein-signed letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and a baseball used in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.

The winning bid came from the family of Democratic power broker George E. Norcross III.

"As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we are deeply honored to become the stewards of such an extraordinary piece of our nation's history. The Declaration of Independence is far more than a historic document, it is a pivotal document that belongs to the story of every American and a symbol of the ideals that continue to unite and inspire generations," said Lexie & Alex Norcross, George's children, in a statement to Action News.

They added that the family is committed to preserving the document so future generations can appreciate its historical significance.

According to the Philly Voice, only two other Exeter Broadside copies have previously been sold at auction, including one that fetched nearly $5.7 million earlier this year and another that sold for about $2.4 million in 2025.