Abraham Lincoln's Museum Says They May Auction Off Items To Pay Debt

Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat, blood-stained gloves worn by the president on the night he was assassinated, and a quill pen left on his desk could be among the items auctioned off to help pay off a dire debt payment deadline. 

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Foundation, which runs Lincoln's museum in Springfield, Ill., says the museum has found itself unable to pay off the remaining debt it owes on a large loan it took out to purchase hundreds of artifacts from a private collector more than 10 years ago. 

Some of Lincoln's personal possessions like a beaver-fur stovepipe hat, letters, and other artifacts, may end up on the auction block unless the museum can come up with the money. 

"We now face significant uncertainty about whether the foundation’s lender will be willing and able to refinance the loan at affordable terms," Foundation CEO Carla Knorowski told ABC News

The Foundation has even gone so far as to start a GoFundMe campaign to try and help save the rare collector's items.  Titled "Save Lincoln Artifacts. Donate NOW!" they are hoping to enough money to help cover the remaining balance on the debt payment. 

Unfortunately, the campaign has only come up with around $24,000 (as of this writing) - well short of the stated $9.7 million goal. 

The loan comes up for renewal in October 2019, and the Foundation says without that money, they will have "no choice but to accelerate the possibility" of selling the items to a private buyer which could "remove them from public view forever." 

Photo: Getty Images


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