Alexander Hamilton’s letter to James Madison sold for an unexpected $113,850

A rare letter by New York Post founder Alexander Hamilton to James Madison was sold this week for $113,850, surpassing its original estimated price of $10,000.The letter was sold at an auction by Lion Heart Autographs Inc. in New York on Wednesday.

The 1790 handwritten letter mentions Thomas Jefferson and chronicles the event that inspired “The Rooms Where It Happens,” from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical “Hamilton”.

Hamilton, America’s First Treasury secretary, wrote it when he and Jefferson were not at best terms until with Madison’s assistance they worked out their differences and agreed to Compromise of 1790.

Hamilton, an immigrant from Saint Kitts and Nevis, composed 51 federalist papers before a scandalous affair ruined his chances of being a political figure.

One of his achievements includes finding if the Post, the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United States.