Times-News - NEWS

One of only 13 known originals of the document abolishing slavery in America is for sale by an Alamance County dealer, and will be on display to the public this week.
An original copy of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, signed by President Lincoln and a host of historical characters, will be on display in the lobby of the Times-News building, 707 S. Main St., Burlington, Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
The document will be sold through an online auction March 30 by Raynors Historical Collectible Auctions. Before it makes its way to a new owner, Raynor has been taking the document around the country for thousands of people to see.
The document carries a pre-auction estimate of $750,000 to $1 million.
The amendment was the

first change made to the Constitution in more than 60 years and the first substantive change to America’s conception of its liberties since the Bill of Rights was sent to the states for approval in 1789.
"The document has captured considerable public interest during a national tour in the past six weeks," said Bob Raynor, president of the company, which has been in business 11 years.
Prior to forming Raynors Historical Collectible Auctions, Raynor operated Vintage Cover Story, selling historical newspapers for about four years.
Raynor has displayed the document at the Pierce Civil War Museum in Corsicana, Texas; the DuSable Museum of African American Studies in Chicago; the Frederick Douglass Museum in Washington, D.C.; the M.L. King National Historic Site in Atlanta, and the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh.
He estimates that at least 10,000 people have already viewed it, many moved by the emotion of seeing and being near such an historical icon.
"This should be an exciting and fun opportunity for the public," Raynor said.
Approved Feb. 1, 1865, by the 38th Congress, the one-page vellum document bears the signatures of Lincoln, vice president Hannibal Hamlin, speaker of the house Schuyler Colfax, secretary of state John W. Forney and 36 U.S. senators and 110 congressmen.
In the simplest of languages, "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction" is handwritten boldly.
Of the 13 known copies signed by Lincoln, 11 are held in permanent institutional collections.
HCA is a family operation, with Raynor’s sons Ethan and Ryan assisting as vice presidents of the operation. One or all of the Raynors will be on hand for explanation of historic importance and to answer questions.
The company’s offerings can be found on www.hcaauctions.com or by calling (336) 584-3334.
An extensive description of the documents can be found at:
www.hcaauctions.com/items/item072.html

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