The Raab Collection, an Ardmore-based company that buys and sells historical documents, recently listed a letter written by Benjamin Franklin, writes Tori Latham for the Robb Report.

The letter, written by the Founding Father in 1777, will be displayed in the firm’s Philadelphia office before being put up for sale on April 11 for $120,000.

The short note references clandestine aid provided by France to the American cause. Franklin traveled to France, tasked with getting the European country to join America’s war for independence. Meanwhile, Emmanuel-Pierre de la Plaign was selected as a formal representative of Georgia Legislative Council to liaise with France.

In the letter, Franklin gives de la Plaigne credentials to negotiate with the French.

“I do hereby certify whom it may concern, that the Papers herewith connected under my Seal, viz. the Extract from the Minutes of the Assembly of Georgia, signed by Henry Cuyler, Clerk; and the Instructions to Capt. De la Plaigne signed by N W. Jones Speaker, are genuine and authentic Papers. B Franklin,” the letter reads.

Read more about The Raab Collection’s sale of a significant historical artifact in the Robb Report.

Rare Benjamin Franklin Signed Letter from Paris, 1777, Securing Supplies for the Revolutionary War