07/11/2026
𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑’𝐒 “𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐀𝐓 𝟐𝟓𝟎” 𝐀𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 $𝟏𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐖 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓
Spirited bidding elevated exceptional material relating to the American Revolution, the Founding Fathers, Judaica, Abraham Lincoln, and African American military history.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — July 10, 2026 — Fleischer’s Auctions achieved a commanding series of results in its America at 250 sale, led by the Congressional Presentation Sword awarded to Lieutenant Andrew Sterett, USN, for his celebrated victory during the First Barbary War. Following intense competition from 20 bids, the historic sword sold for $100,000, including the buyer’s premium, surpassing its $50,000–$75,000 estimate.
Authorized by Congress in 1802, the sword commemorated Sterett’s defeat of a Tripolitan corsair while commanding the schooner Enterprise on August 1, 1801. The engagement was among the earliest major victories of the newly established United States Navy, and Sterett’s sword is recognized as the first Congressional sword presented to a United States naval officer following the ratification of the Constitution.
Another significant lot was the first edition and first issue of the first complete Jewish prayer book printed in the New World, Isaac Pinto’s 1766 Prayers for Shabbath, Rosh-Hashanah, and Kippur. Containing dated familial inscriptions associated with prominent early Jewish Americans, the exceptionally important volume attracted 19 bids and sold for $57,500, including the buyer’s premium.
Revolutionary War manuscripts and printed material produced some of the auction’s most dramatic bidding. A 1779 Continental Army broadside prescribing uniforms for officers and enlisted men soared to $22,500 against an estimate of $750–$1,500 after 27 bids. A 1777 letter signed by George Washington concerning the pivotal Siege of Fort Mifflin sold for $23,750, while a pocket watch connected through longstanding provenance to a Founding Father brought $20,000, more than twice its high estimate.
Two 1779 receipts documenting provisions supplied for Washington’s headquarters also inspired determined competition. A receipt relating to the delivery of provisions sold for $10,625 against a $1,500–$3,000 estimate, and a corresponding receipt for w**e brought $5,000.
Among other notable Revolutionary-era results, a circa-1780s manuscript songbook containing the patriotic song “Bunker Hill” sold for $10,000; a 1787 document signed by both John Hancock and Dorothy Quincy Hancock realized $10,000; and a 1772 autograph letter signed by John Adams reached $8,750. An early illustrated broadside of the Declaration of Independence, estimated at only $500–$750, drew 30 bids and sold for $7,500.
Material illuminating the experiences of Black Americans in the nation’s military history was met with particularly strong enthusiasm. A sixteenth-plate tintype portrait of an unidentified United States Colored Troops soldier received 40 bids, the largest number recorded for any highlighted lot, and sold for $11,250 against an estimate of $250–$500. A Revolutionary War return identifying Black soldiers serving in the 9th Connecticut Regiment sold for $5,000, while an 1782 pay document belonging to a Black Connecticut soldier and former prisoner of war brought $4,062.50.
Abraham Lincoln photography formed another major pillar of the auction. An Alexander Gardner “from life” portrait of Lincoln, produced in April 1865, sold for $11,875 against a $750–$1,500 estimate. A scarce Mathew Brady portrait cataloged as Meserve No. 86 realized $7,500, while a photograph known as the “last portrait” of Lincoln brought $6,875. A Lincoln mourning carte de visite bearing the inscription “Liberty is Immortal Though Its Champion Be Slain” sold for $5,312.50, more than eight times its high estimate.
Early American photography also performed strongly. A historic daguerreotype depicting the Brooklyn Navy Yard sold for $11,875, while a tintype portrait of Private John Francis Hammond of the 4th United States Colored Troops realized $4,375.
Civil War and Gettysburg material attracted broad participation. An extraordinary firsthand account of Pickett’s Charge, written only days after the Battle of Gettysburg, sold for $8,125. A presentation drum associated with Maryland’s Purnell Legion brought $6,875, and a naval telescope inscribed to Lieutenant Commander George H. Perkins, later celebrated for his actions at the Battle of Mobile Bay, realized $5,000.
Additional highlights included:
A circa-1876 Centennial-era Grand Union Flag, or Continental Colors, which sold for $9,375 after 36 bids.
An important 1755 Quaker extract condemning the purchase and importation of enslaved people, which achieved $6,875 against an estimate of $500–$750.
A pair of silver-mounted French flintlock holster pistols associated with the era of the American Revolution, which sold for $6,250.
A 1775 issue of The Connecticut Journal reporting the burning of Falmouth and other early Revolutionary events, which brought $6,250 against a $250–$500 estimate.
A circa-1840 American whaling ship’s logbook, which realized $5,312.50.
A copy of Profiles in Courage inscribed by John F. Kennedy, which sold for $5,312.50.
A two-inch solid round shot recovered from the Revolutionary War gunboat Philadelphia in Lake Champlain, which reached $4,062.50 after 29 bids.
A rare horizontal carte de visite depicting Lincoln’s Chicago funeral hearse, which brought $4,062.50 against an estimate of $250–$500.
A wartime archive centered upon an original period photograph of Joe Rosenthal’s Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, together with the scrapbook, photographs, and personal effects of Seaman First Class Joseph Anthony Damico of the 133rd U.S. Naval Construction Battalion, sold for $11,250, including the buyer’s premium.
