Rare artifacts belonging to Abraham Lincoln are in danger of being sold off after his Presidential Library Foundation announced it is struggling to pay off a $10 million loan used to acquire them.
The foundation took out a $23 million loan in 2007 to purchase the Barry and Louise Taper Collection. It paid an additional $25 million of its own money but just this week it was revealed that the foundation still owes almost $10 million on the note, due in October 2019.
If the loan isn’t paid off, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Illinois said it will be forced to sell off extremely rare items related to the 16th president from the collection.
The items at risk include Lincoln’s iconic stovepipe hat, an 1824 book containing the first known example of his handwriting and the bloodstained gloves that he wore the night he was assassinated.
“We now face significant uncertainty about whether the foundation’s lender will be willing and able to refinance the loan at affordable terms,” the foundation said in a statement. – READ MORE
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