Tennessee ? A rare 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction for $477,650 by a man who found it last year in a Nashville thrift store for $2.48.

Michael Sparks, a music equipment technician, sold the document Thursday at Raynors’ Historical Collectible Auctions in Burlington, N.C.

Six bidders contended for the document, most by phone or Internet, when bidding opened at $125,000. The identity of the winner was not disclosed.

Sparks found his bargain last March while browsing at Music City Thrift Shop. When he asked the price on a yellowed, shellacked, rolled-up document, the clerk marked it at $2.48 plus tax.

The document turned out to be an “official copy” of the Declaration of Independence – one of 200 commissioned by John Quincy Adams in 1820 when he was secretary of state and printed by William Stone in 1823.