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A rare printing of the Declaration of Independence that was lost for more than 250 years was recovered in London, Britain’s National Archives announced Friday. It is the only known copy of its kind existing outside the U.S.
The so-called Exeter Declaration, which was printed in Exeter, N.H., days after the Declaration on Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, was found by a volunteer who was cataloging records from the American Revolutionary War.
It was discovered in the Royal Navy inventory in May after being overlooked for centuries and labeled as just “another paper” in an inventory of captured documents.
Historians believe the paper went unnoticed for so long because its significance was not understood by British officials at the time.
Only a small number of surviving copies of the so-called Exeter paper are known to exist, and all 11 were believed to only be in the U.S. until now.
The discovery was made by volunteer researcher Michael Scurr while he was reviewing records related to the capture of the American privateer ship named Dalton.
“It was an amazing addition to the story of the Dalton and the many other privateers that fought the British at sea,” Amanda Bevan, who leads the project cataloging Royal Navy correspondence from the American Revolution, told NBC News.
The ship had been operating during the Revolutionary War, targeting British vessels before it was intercepted by a British warship off the coast of Portugal in 1776.
Scurr, who volunteered at the Archives for 11 years, came across the discovery while doing routine cataloging work and knew he had found something historic.
“I thought, oh, right, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,” Scurr told The Associated Press. “How exciting is this?”
The discovery comes just as the U.S. prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, marking the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
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