| From the introduction, the lowest bid for the Button Gwinnett autograph
had to be at least $125,000; and, of course, no two final bids were for the
same amount. Three different bidders are given in each of clues 1 and 3,
so there must be some commonality between the two clues. There cannot be
complete overlap, or the bidders for the Patriots House of Wax and the
Grandsons of the American Revolution would have bid the same amount, so
John isn't Mr. Mason and Mr. Chase isn't Thomas. If John were the bidder
for the Grandsons of the American Revolution, all five men would be named
between clues 1 and 3 and Mr. Mason would have made the high bid of
$250,000 (clue 7). Then Thomas would have offered $200,000 and John
$175,000 for the Grandsons (3), with Mr. Chase's bid $125,000 and the
bid offered on behalf of Patriots House of Wax $100,000 (1). However, this
contradicts the minimum bid of $125,000 (intro); so John didn't bid for
the Grandsons of the American Revolution. Similarly, if Mr. Mason were
the bidder for the Patriots House of Wax, John in clue 1 would have made
the winning bid of $250,000, Mr. Chase would have stopped at $200,000,
Mr. Mason's bid for the Patriots House of Wax would have been $175,000 (1),
Thomas would have bid $125,000, and the bidder for the Grandsons of the
American Revolution would have quit at $100,000--contradicting the intro.
Therefore, the only two possible overlaps are that either Mr. Chase bid
for the Grandsons of the American Revolution or that Thomas bid for the
Patriots House of Wax. Trying the first possibility, then, combining
clues 1 and 3, Mr. Mason would have made the winning $250,000 (7) bid,
Thomas would have quit after bidding $200,000, Mr. Chase's bid on behalf
of the Grandsons of the American Revolution would have been $175,000,
John would have offered $225,000, and the final bid for the Patriots House
of Wax would have been $150,000. By clue 5, then, John would have bid
on behalf of the Continental Congress Club; and William would be Mr. Chase.
However, there is no way for clue 6 to work given this arrangement.
So, the overlap between clues 1 and 3 is that Thomas bid for the Patriots
House of Wax. Combining clues 1 and 3, then, John made the winning bid of
$250,000 (7), Mr. Chase quit at $200,000, Thomas offered $175,000 as bidder
for the Patriots House of Wax, Mr. Mason's last effort was $225,000, and
the final offer from the Grandsons of the American Revolution bidder was
$150,000. By clue 5, either John or Mr. Chase bid on behalf of the
Continental Congress Club. If Mr. Chase bid for the Club, William would
have bid for the Grandsons of the American Revolution. John would be
Mr. Whipple and Charles Mason (6). By elimination, George would have
bid for the Continental Congress Club--which he did not (2). Therefore,
John bid on behalf of the Continental Congress Club; and William is Mr.
Chase (5). Mr. Mason bid for the Liberty Bell Foundation (4), and Mr.
Chase then for the Philadelphia History Museum. By clue 2, George bid for
the Grandsons of the American Revolution and Charles then for the Liberty
Bell Foundation. John is Mr. Whipple (6). Finally, by clue 2, George
is Mr. Hancock and Thomas Adams. In sum, the final offers from each of
the five bidders for the Button Gwinnett autograph were as follows:
- $250,000 -- John Whipple, Continental Congress Club
- $225,000 -- Charles Mason, Liberty Bell Foundation
- $200,000 -- William Chase, Philadelphia History Museum
- $175,000 -- Thomas Adams, Patriots House of Wax
- $150,000 -- George Hancock, Grandsons of the American Revolution
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