http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/03/19/bill.of.rights/ http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/5432311.htm http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/5431087.htm
In 1789, after the Bill of Rights was ratified, George Washington commissioned 13 handwritten parchment copies to be sent to the 13 states. Most have disappeared over the years. In 1865, at the end of the War Between the States, some carpetbagging Union soldier stole North Carolina's copy.
A collector recently tried to sell it to a museum, and the FBI ran a sting to seize it using a civil seizure warrant, from a federal judge in North Carolina whose court will rule on whether it should be returned to the state or the collector. The value of the copy is estimated at $20-30 million, with one official saying it was "priceless".
The museum director said the copy is faded but in "reasonable condition."
Fortunately, the FBI was able to take custody before it was noticed that
the seized copy contains First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth,
Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments, unlike current government practice,
and the enforcement of the Third was of course moot during the war.
