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Star Spangled Banner Sells for Record Auction Price at Christie's

Filed under: Auctions

The Star Spangled Banner is on display at Christie's in New York. It will be sold by the auction house on December 3.

A rare first edition of America's national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, sold at auction today at Christie's for $506,500 (including the buyer's premium), setting a record price for any sheet music sold at auction. The pre-sale estimate for the lot was $200,000 to $300,000.

Composed by poet Francis Scott Key during the evening of September 13, 1814, the sheet music was offered as part of Christie's "Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana" sale at its headquarters at Rockefeller Plaza in New York.

According to Chris Coover, senior specialist in books and manuscripts at Christie's in New York, the buyer is an American private collector. "It shows what an icon of American patriotism the Star Spangled Banner really is," says Coover.

The sellers are two retired Pennsylvania antique dealers who bought the sheet music as part of an album in 1989 for $50. The dealers only later realized the significance of what was contained in the album.

According to Coover, there are only eleven copies still in existence, including this one, though, until recently, it wasn't well known that this one even existed. "It is the only one still in private hands with all others owned by institutions," says Coover. "It is quite a rarity."

Gallery: Star Spangled Banner

The Star Spangled Banner on view in Christie's NYC Gallery

A Close-Up View of The Star Spangled Banner.

A Close-Up View of The Star Spangled Banner at Christie's

The first edition of The Star Spangled Banner contains the mispelling of the word

Tags: antiques, auction, Christies, Francis Scott Key, rare documents, sheet music, star spangled banner, Steve Forbes, Winston Churchill

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Star Spangled Banner to Be Sold at Auction

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

On December 3, Christie's will sell at auction a rare first edition of America's national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Composed by poet Francis Scott Key during the evening of September 13, 1814, the sheet music will be offered in Christie's "Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts Including Americana" sale at its headquarters at Rockefeller Plaza in New York. The pre-sale estimate for the lot is $200,000 to $300,000.

The sellers are two retired Pennsylvania antique dealers who bought the sheet music as part of an album in 1989 for $50. The dealers only later realized the significance of what was contained in the album.

According to Chris Coover, senior specialist in books and manuscripts at Christie's in New York, the dealers attended many small auctions in the Pennsylvania area over a period of many years. At one of these small auctions, they acquired an album that contained popular songs from the 1814 era with most of the songs being undated. "After buying the album, the dealers studied it closely and realized it contained a first edition of The Star Spangled Banner which was bound into the album," says Coover. "They did their homework and realized they had a very rare piece indeed. They were thrilled to be the owners of a great piece of Americana."

According to Coover, there are only eleven copies still in existence, including this one, though, until recently, it wasn't well known that this one even existed. "It is the only one still in private hands with all others owned by institutions," says Coover. "It is quite a rarity."

Gallery: Star Spangled Banner

Tags: Americana, auction, Christies, Francis Scott Key, Rare Books and Manuscripts, sheet music, Star Spangled Banner

Continue reading “Star Spangled Banner to Be Sold at Auction”