Muhammad Ali’s draft card failed to sell after not receiving a single bid Tuesday at Christie's.
Up for auction for the first time, the card had a starting bid of $3 million and a pre-sale estimate of $3 milltion to $5 million.
Consigned by descendants of Ali, the card, which law would have dictated the boxer keep in his wallet at all times, is a memento from Ali’s refusal to be drafted into the Vietnam War.
Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for his refusal to be drafted, but he stayed free until his appeal of the decision overturned the conviction in 1971. Ali was forced to vacate his heavyweight championship until winning the case on appeal.
The card was issued March 14, 1967, by the Louisville, Kentucky, Draft Board and signed by the board’s chairman, J. Allen Sherman. The back of the card instructs the recipient to “sign this form immediately upon receipt.” It is conspicuously not signed by Ali.
In 2015, Ali’s signed letter to the Draft Board requesting religious exemption from 1966 sold for $334,600.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.