A coinage act signed by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 establishing the dollar as the standard currency of the United States has sold for $118,750 at Swann Auction Galleries in New York.
It achieved an increase of 58.3% on a $75,000 estimate in the April 8 sale.
 'The Dollar Becomes the Coin of the Land' establishes the currency of the US |
Titled "The Dollar Becomes the Coin of the Land", the manuscript lists the various American denominations (eagles, half cents etc) and lays the foundations for the structure and running of the US Mint.
It also includes instructions authorising the hiring of the various necessary parties, including essayers and engravers.
Two other copies of the act are known to exist, although neither are signed, with this example last appearing at auction in 1917.
Click here to see our superb 1848 Peter Force printing of the Declaration of Independence.
A copy of the Book of Mormon bound in its original calfskin made $45,000.
First published in 1830, shortly before the establishment of the church, the book lists Joseph Smith as "author and proprietor" rather than "translator" as he is titled in later editions.
The church has since become one of the most powerful in the world, with a global following of 15m people.
Other lots in the sale included the handwritten original copy of Cuaderno de Guisos (1820) - the first recorded Mexican recipe book, which sold for $21,250 against a $3,000 estimate (up 608.3%).
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