A rare copy of the first printing of the U.S. Constitution is going up for auction

An image shows the first page of the first printing of the final text of the U.S. Constitution. The rare document will go up for auction in December, Sotheby's announced on Tuesday. (Courtesy Sotheby's)

Only two copies from the first printing of the final text of the U.S. Constitution are known to be in private hands. One of them sold for a record $43.2 million last year; the second is going on the auction block next month.

The document, dubbed the "Adrian Van Sinderen Constitution" after its longtime owner, hasn't been put up for auction since 1894, according to Sotheby's, which will take bids for it in New York on Dec. 13.