Glad you got to attend the event. Bet it was great.
What were some of the ‘priceless’ historical documents or artifacts that Beck was trumpeting on his radio show?
A sister of the Liberty Bell cast by the same company and at the same time as the original (without the crack though)
The first copy made from the original Declaration of Independence
A blood-soaked timber support from a surgeon's table at the battle of Valley Forge
A desk used by Abraham Lincoln
Dwight Eisenhower's battle helmet (with 5 stars) from WW II
Babe Ruth's suitcase
A Honus Wagner baseball card
A letter from Ronald Reagan asking his daughter Patty to contact him (she never did)
Well, he had Abraham Lincoln's actual desk. There were always guards around that. He had a plank of wood that was from an operating table at Valley Forge stained with the blood of many Patriots. There was a tree stump from the Civil War that had a cannon ball and musket shot embedded in it. There was a painting never before seen in public of George Washington praying. There was a full size replica of the Liberty Bell. A copy of the Declaration of Independence. A sign that was carried by Martin Luther King. The helmet that General Eisenhower wore on D-Day. The most expensive baseball card in the world. Babe Ruth's suitcase he used when traveling. There was some other stuff, but these were the items I remember off the cuff.
Adding to the thorough list of artifacts others have given, I also recall there was a handwritten letter by Abraham Lincoln containing points of logic and argument against slavery written very early in his career.
To elaborate about the paintings on stage, Arnold Friberg’s famous painting of George Washington, “The Prayer at Valley Forge”, was there displayed together with a color study of the same painting used by the artist which had never before been seen in public.
It was a wonderful presentation.