What was thought to be a “copy” of the Magna Carta acquired by Harvard Law School in the 1940s has been discovered to be one of the rare originals from 1300, according to British researchers from King’s College London and the University of East Anglia.
It’s one of just seven such documents from King Edward I’s 1300 issue of the document, which influenced constitutions around the world, including the founding documents of the United States.
According to a statement released by the school, the Harvard Law School Library dished out $27.50 for the document identified as “HLS MS 172” in 1946 from an auction, which listed it as a copy from 1327.
It had been bought just a month earlier at Sotheby’s by booksellers Sweet & Maxwell from a “Royal Air Force war hero” for £42.
“This is a fantastic discovery,” David Carpenter, Professor of Medieval History at King’s College London, said in a statement. “Harvard’s Magna Carta deserves celebration, not as some mere copy, stained and faded, but as an original of one of the most significant documents in world constitutional history, a cornerstone of freedoms past, present and yet to be won.”
Carpenter was studying unofficial copies of the Magna Carta when he came across a digital copy of HLS MS 172 and suspected it may be original.
Magna Carta originals are among the most expensive written documents in the world, with an earlier copy printed in 1297 selling for $21.3 million in 2007.
Will Stern is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture.