Revolutionary's rare signature likely to make £80,000 at Shropshire auction
It is a scrawled signature on a scrap of paper – but it is expected to raise around £80,000 when it goes on sale in Shropshire.
The signature belongs to Button Gwinnett, who voted for and signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, and also helped draft the state constitution of Georgia.
The ultra-rare signature, cut from an unknown 18th century document, is one of a wealth of historical documents up for auction at Mullocks in Ludlow next week.
Ben Jones, consultant at Mullocks, said it was the "holy grail" of autographs due to Gwinnett's untimely demise in a duel with a political rival just 10 months after signing the historic document, which is considered the birth of the United States as the north American colonies declared independence from Great Britain.
Mr Jones said: "This promoted the signature of Button Gwinnett to become one of the rarest and sought after signatures in the world as collector's aim to acquire the complete set of 56 autographs from signatories of the Declaration of Independence."
Only 51 of his signatures are known to exist and most are on official documents and cannot be sold, he said. A previous full document with his signature on went for nearly half a million pounds.
Other items at the sale on Tuesday include framed pictures of The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and Princess Diana, along with a raft of rare items relating to Hitler - including the original hand-drawn plans for his tea house. The signed Royal photographs are expected to make up to £6,000 for Princess Diana and £8,000 for The Queen and Dukeof Edinburgh.
