Abraham Lincoln Signed Documents: Realized Prices, Examples & How to Sell
To auction, sell or consign your Abraham Lincoln signed document, please email your description and photos to [email protected] of Nate D. Sanders Auctions (NateDSanders.com).
Why Are Abraham Lincoln Signed Documents Valuable?
Abraham Lincoln is consistently ranked among the top three U.S. Presidents for his leadership during the Civil War, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and his iconic Gettysburg Address. During his presidency he signed several of military appointments as the country was grappling with the Civil War. Important legislation including The Homestead Act and Morrill Land-Grant Act went into effect during Lincoln’s presidency and encouraged westward expansion.
Some Abraham Lincoln Signed Documents We’ve Sold:
Signed Civil War Document — Sold for $19,250
Incredible Civil War document signed by Abraham Lincoln, equipping Virginian Daniel Lamb with ”Arms and Munitions of War” for ”protection against domestic violence, insurrection, invasion, or rebellion”. Virginia, of course, was irreparably torn in two during the Civil War, resulting in the secession of northwest Virginia into West Virginia in 1863. Daniel Lamb would help lead that secession, and is here appointed by Lincoln to act as agent for the Virginians who support the Union to fight their Rebel neighbors.
Lincoln signed this appointment according to an act of Congress approved on 31 July 1861, allowing for the President to allocate two million dollars to ”loyal citizens residing in any of the States of which the inhabitants are in rebellion against the Government of the United States”. The appointment further helps Lamb to ”provide for the expenses ‘of organizing them into companies, battalions, regiments or otherwise, for their own protection against domestic violence, insurrection, invasion, or rebellion.” Document is dated 21 October 1861, less than two years before West Virginia seceded from Virginia and was recognized as the thirty-fifth state in the Union. Document measures 16.75” x 11”.
Signed Military Appointment as President — Sold for $15,588
Handsome vellum document Abraham Lincoln autographed as President, with Lincoln appointing Speed S. Fry Brigadier General of Volunteers. Dated 22 March 1862, Lincoln signs with his full name, ”Abraham Lincoln” at lower right. Countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Folds and light dampstaining along bottom and right edge. Overall very good condition with fully intact blue paper seal. Sold for $15,588.
Signed Document At Start of Civil War — Sold for $13,936
President Abraham Lincoln, in office for just six months, signs a military commission, dated 19 September 1861. The President appoints Haldimand S. Putnam to the rank of second lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers by signing, “Abraham Lincoln”. The text of the commission, below an illustration of an American eagle, reads in part: “…Know Ye, That reposing special trust and confidence in the patriotism, valor, fidelity, and abilities of Haldimand S. Putnam, I have nominated, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint him Second Lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers in the service of the United States…” The April 1861 start of the Civil War created a need for new officers in the Corps, as officers transferred to other services or joined the Confederate cause. Putnam became an officer straight out of West Point and would serve until his death at the Second Battle of Fort Wagner. The commission is countersigned by Simon Cameron, Lincoln’s first Secretary of War. A vibrant blue embossed Department of War seal is affixed to the 15.75″ x 19.5″ parchment document. Docketing is present on the face of the commission. Minor separation to folds not affecting signature, else very good. A large clear Lincoln signature on a document executed at a crucial time in American history. Sold for $13,936.
Signed Military Document From 1862 — Sold for $12,641
Abraham Lincoln autograph military document signed “Abraham Lincoln” on 19 July 1862, appointing Civil War hero William “Bull” Nelson as Major General during the Civil War. Nelson was one of only four soldiers from Kentucky to be appointed as Major General in the Civil War, and was famously murdered by Union Adjutant-General Jefferson C. Davis in an argument on 27 September 1862. Though beloved by his rank and file soldiers, Nelson was disliked by some of his fellow officers due to his high expectations of them. On the day of Nelson’s death, after being dismissed by Nelson as a “puppy”, Davis borrowed a pistol from a fellow officer and shot Nelson in the chest, who said as he lay dying, “Send for a clergyman; I wish to be baptized. I have been basely murdered”. Document features blue stamped seal of the United States War Department to upper left, with Lincoln’s unusually full signature of “Abraham Lincoln” to lower right. Countersigned by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Large vellum document measures 14.75″ x 19″. Restoration to document with two tears archivally repaired on verso. Foxing and small errant pen mark to lower right. Very good condition overall. Sold for $12,641.
Signed Civil War Consul Appointment to the UK — Sold for $11,400
Abraham Lincoln signed Civil War consul appointment to Cardiff, Wales, a key diplomatic position as Lincoln sought and needed to maintain the United Kingdom’s neutrality towards the Confederacy and U.S. during the war.
Dated 24 August 1861, President Lincoln here taps James C. Slaght, a politically connected young man who would actually decline the appointment in favor of a Captain’s rank in the U.S. Quartermaster Volunteers. Slaght’s Civil war career was a rather ignominious one, however, as he was found guilty in a court martial in 1864, with Lincoln subsequently remitting his sentence. Later that year Slaght was promoted to Colonel, though the examining board found him ”exceedingly deficient in knowledge of the regulations, and orders” of the Quartermaster’s Department, despite him serving in it for three full years. In April 1865 at the war’s end, Slaght was dismissed from the service but again used his political connections to refashion that dismissal into a more respectable resignation.
Document features an extraordinarily bold and prominent signature by Lincoln, signing his full name, ”Abraham Lincoln”. Countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. With red wax seal intact. Document measures 17.75” x 13”, matted and framed to a size of approximately 30” x 25”. Chipping to edges and splits starting to folds. Not examined out of frame, but appears in very good condition.
Naval Appointment Signed as President — Sold for $11,000
Abraham Lincoln naval appointment signed as President during the Civil War, appointing John Madigan Jr. as Lt. Commander in the Navy, a rare naval appointment as most are to lower positions. Shortly after this appointment was signed, Captain Madigan would burn the Rebel blockade runner ”Hanover” off the Galveston, TX coast, documented in ”The Naval History of the Civil War”.
Document Signed as President — Sold for $10,210
Elegant document with Abraham Lincoln autograph as President, appointing Joseph Wilbar as Postmaster in Taunton, Massachusetts. Signed with his full name, ”Abraham Lincoln”, document dated 18 December 1861 is countersigned by Secretary of State William Seward. Measures 13.5” x 9.5” with paper covered red wax seal to verso. Folds and small repair to fold on verso. Overall near fine. Sold for $10,210.
Document Signed as President Just Five Days After the Start of the Civil War — Sold for $9,983
Abraham Lincoln document signed as President on 17 April 1861, only five days after civil war erupted at the Battle of Fort Sumter. Lincoln appoints Arthur B. Calep to Deputy Postmaster at Middletown, Connecticut. With a bold and prominent signature by Lincoln, signed with his full name ”Abraham Lincoln” at lower right. Countersigned by Secretary of State William H. Seward. With intact red wax-based paper seal, document measures 15.5” x 9.75”. Light foxing, small holes at intersecting folds and separation starting at a few foldlines, overall very good with an unusually bold signature by Lincoln. Sold for $9,983.
Signed 4-Language Ship’s Paper — Sold for $9,000
As President, Abraham Lincoln autographed his full name in black ink to a blank ship’s passport. Document is co-signed by Secretary of State, William H. Seward. Document retains its paper seal of the United States and is printed in 4 languages: French, Spanish, English and Dutch, respectively. Measures 19.5” x 16”. Minor repairs at folds, overall near fine condition. Sold for $9,000.
Legal Document Signed with Bold Handwriting by Lincoln — Sold for $8,750
Abraham Lincoln autograph document signed, part of a legal document filed by Lincoln and his law partner William Herndon. Undated but circa March 1855, Lincoln handwrites approximately 120 words in the case of John Williams vs. Ulysses Lindley and Theodore Baker, with Lincoln acting on behalf of the defendant in a case appealed by Lincoln to the Supreme Court. Document reads in full:
”behalf the defendants say plaintiff actio non because they say that at and before the time when said Mechanic’s and Farmer’s Bank assumed to assign said note by their President, said Bank had, on lawful demand, failed and refused to redeem in lawful money of the United States one of the circulating notes, made by said Bank, countersigned and registered according to law, and said note had, therefore, been duly protested for nonpayment by a notary public, and the [?] had duly received and filed the [?] thereof, in his office, and had given notice to said Bank to pay said note, and said Bank had omitted to pay the said note; and this the defendant is ready to verify, wherefore / Lincoln & Herndon p.d. [public defender]”.
Document measures approximately 7.75” x 5.25” with irregular lower edge. Penned on blue wove paper, rebacked to style. With bold writing in Lincoln’s distinctive hand, overall in very good to near fine condition. With University Archives COA. Sold for $8,750.
This concludes our Abraham Lincoln signed document blog! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. Learn how to sell your Abraham Lincoln autograph.
FAQs
What kind of Abraham Lincoln autographs exist?
The most common types of Abraham Lincoln autographs are signed photos, legal papers, military documents, letters, checks, free franks and presidential documents.
Explore some of the Lincoln autograph letters signed (ALS) that we sold.
What factors determine the value of an Abraham Lincoln signed document?
The value of your autograph can vary based on condition, document type and subject matter/ historical content.