Original Hand-Drawn Mason-Dixon Line Map Up for Auction, Est. $800,000–$1.2 Million

2.7 · 1d ago · US

The Facts

  • Brunk Auctions of Asheville, North Carolina, will sell the hand-drawn Mason-Dixon Line map on Thursday in a livestreamed auction. CBS News only
  • Brunk Auctions estimates the map could sell for $800,000 to $1.2 million; the seller is anonymous. CBS News only
  • The map was drawn between 1767 and 1768 by surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, originally to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania. CBS News only
  • The linen-backed paper strip is 76 inches long and 6.5 inches tall and has been remounted on Japanese rice paper backing. CBS News only
  • The map passed to the family of attorney Benjamin Chew, who represented the descendants of William Penn, and stayed in the family until 1982. CBS News only
Dive deeper · 3 more factsShow less
  • In 1982, publisher Malcolm S. Forbes outbid the Library of Congress and bought the map for $360,000, then said to be the highest auction price paid for an American map. CBS News only
  • A vertical section of the map showing the Delaware-Maryland border is housed at Princeton University. CBS News only
  • Brunk said the Library of Congress declined to bid, citing budget constraints. CBS News only

Context

The original hand-drawn chart of the Mason-Dixon Line is being offered at auction by Brunk Auctions. The survey was commissioned to resolve a colonial boundary dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania.

The line later became associated with the division between free and slave states, after its use in the 1820 Missouri Compromise. The map was last sold in 1982.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

3 News Editor This is a concrete but niche event, a single auction of a historical artifact with limited direct impact on the general public, though it has notable cultural and historical interest.
3 Business Analyst This is a single private auction of a historical artifact by a regional auction house, with limited broad economic impact despite a notable sale price estimate.
2 Informed Citizen This is a private auction of a historical artifact by a small firm, with no broad impact on ordinary people beyond niche collector and history interest.

Source

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