Rare Copy Of The Declaration Of Independence Found

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jul 3rd 2009 at 6:01PM

A rare copy of the Declaration of Independence has been found in England. The AP reports that British researchers discovered the "Dunlap print," named after a printer, in the National Archives several months ago but was only announced after it was cataloged (and just in time for July 4th).

There are only around 200 original copies and finding a new one in good condition is extremely rare, only around 26 Dunlap prints are believed to still exist. Officials aren't sure how the document ended up in the archives but it may have been on a ship that was intercepted by the British navy. It was discovered by an American bookseller doing research at the archives in Richmond, Surrey. The last Dunlap print found was sold at an auction for $8.14 million in 2000. The National Archives have no plan to sell this document.

Tags: declaration of independence, DeclarationOfIndependence, documents, independence day, IndependenceDay