Bidding for this lot will end on Wednesday, March 26th. The auction will begin at 10:30AM PDT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Thursday, March 27th or Friday, March 28th.

A Declaration of Independence with a screen-matched storage tube from Jon Turteltaub's National Treasure. Treasure hunter Ben Gates (Nicolas Cage) stole the Declaration of Independence to decode secret messages concealed on it and carried it with him in a storage tube. Distressing points on the top and sides of this storage tube screen-match to when Gates fled across rooftops and through the streets of Washington, DC to avoid federal agents.

A massive success upon release, National Treasure held the No. 1 spot at the box office for three weekends before closing with a worldwide gross of $173 million. In the years since, its central MacGuffin has been immortalized in popular culture for its instantly-identifiable line, "I'm going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

This Declaration of Independence was exactingly recreated for close-up photography from the real-life historical document housed in the Rotunda for the Charters of Freedom at the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC. Made from paper, it is headlined "In Congress July 4 1776" in olde English-style text printed in black ink to appear handwritten and aged by production with brown stains, holes, and jagged edges. The document also exhibits lemon juice stains believed to have been applied by production for the scene where Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger) used lemon juice to reveal codes concealed on it. The red leather storage tube features a matching red leather shoulder strap, a protective aluminum liner on the interior, and a white plastic Pickett tube insert. It exhibits scuff marks and scratching throughout the leather and plastic. Dimensions: (largest) 27.5" x 4" x 4" (70 cm x 10.25 cm x 10.25 cm)

Stored off-site; see off-site storage notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Additional Provenance: Disney Auctions Certificate of Authenticity.

Estimate: $10,000 - 20,000