26, 2026. File photo: This photo provided by Brunk Auctions shows the original, hand-drawn survey of the Mason-Dixon Line at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C., Monday, Oct.
The bidding began at $400,000 for the survey, completed in 1768 by British surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon. its vice-president Lauren Brunk said she was pleased with the result Although the final price fell short of the auction house’s high estimate of $1.2 million. The Library of Congress, which lost out when the map was sold in 1982, did not participate in Thursday’s bidding. The late publisher Malcolm Forbes bought the map in 1982 for $360,000, outbidding the Library of Congress. It was sold again in 2002 for $556,000, making Thursday’s sale a significant increase over its previous auction price.
“It’s a very high price for a map,” she said. The buyer has asked to remain anonymous, at least for now, Brunk said. Brunk said she was pleased that the historic document had been entrusted to the auction house.
The sale was conducted both online and in person at Brunk Auctions.
“I would like to say I’m thrilled that this is going to a good home and we are so happy to have had it in our presence for these last months,” Brunk said. “It also feels like a privilege to have been entrusted to steward this one owner to the next.”