World · North America · 16 hrs ago
Original Mason-Dixon Line map sells for $950,000 at Asheville auction
A hand-drawn map of the Mason-Dixon Line sold for $950,000 at an auction in Asheville, North Carolina.
The map, completed in 1768 by surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, was commissioned to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
The boundary later became linked to the divide between free and slave states, including through its use in the 1820 Missouri Compromise.
It also became a symbol of the divisions that led to the Civil War.
The auction drew 45 bidders, and the buyer asked to remain anonymous for now.
The map last sold in 2002 for $556,000, after publisher Malcolm Forbes bought it in 1982 for $360,000.
A hand-drawn map documenting the Mason-Dixon Line sold for $950,000 at Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina, on Thursday, October 29, 2026.
The sale followed a bidding contest involving 45 bidders that lasted just under three minutes.
With a 25% buyer’s premium, the buyer will pay nearly $1.2 million, according to WLOS.
The map was completed in 1768 by surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
It later became associated with the division between free and slave states and the divisions that preceded the Civil War.
- Who
- The buyer’s identity was not disclosed. Forty-five bidders competed for the map.
- What
- The original Mason-Dixon Line map sold for $950,000.
- When
- Thursday, October 29, 2026.
- Where
- Brunk Auctions in Asheville, North Carolina; bidding took place online and in person.
- Why
- The map was commissioned to settle a border dispute between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon completed the survey map.
Malcolm Forbes bought the map for $360,000, according to the Associated Press.
The map was resold for $556,000, according to the Associated Press.
The map sold for $950,000 at Brunk Auctions in Asheville.
- Sale price
- $950,000
- Buyer’s premium
- 25%
- Bidding
- 45 bidders competed for just under three minutes
- Mapmakers
- Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon
- Map completed
- 1768
- Auction venue
- Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina
3 sources
What people are saying
It’s a very high price for a map,
We’re a big, big melting pot,
People’s political camps and people’s cultural camps are increasingly the same thing,