A rare 1776 Declaration of Independence copy disappeared for nearly 180 years before turning up in a Scottish attic; it later sold for $4.42 million

For decades, an important piece of American history was sitting quietly among old papers in a Scottish attic. It did not look like the kind of document that could command millions at auction. Folded and tucked away in a pile, the vellum copy was discovered by auction specialist Cathy Marsden while she was examining papers brought down from an attic in Edinburgh. Then the research began. What appeared to be an old copy of the Declaration of Independence turned out to be one of the rare William Stone facsimiles made in the 19th century. Its connection to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the Declaration’s signers and a Founding Father, made the discovery even more significant, as per reports by The Standard anf Business Insider.

On July 1, the document sold for $4,420,000, or about £3.21 million, at Freeman’s in Philadelphia.

How was the forgotten document discovered?

Cathy Marsden, a specialist at Edinburgh-based Lyon & Turnbull, was looking through a collection of papers that had been brought down from an attic when she noticed the folded document.

She opened it and recognized the Declaration of Independence.

“I was looking through a pile of papers which had been brought down from the attic, amongst which was a folded up, vellum, document. Opening it up, I could see was a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

“When I got back to the office and started doing some research I became really excited as its significance became clearer.

“After extensive research we confirmed it was indeed one of the 201 copies made by William Stone, of which only 48 of them are known to still exist. Being able to identify to whom the copy belonged made it even more exciting and rare.”

The discovery was then passed between Lyon & Turnbull in the UK and its sister auction house, Freeman’s, in the United States.

Paul Roberts, vice-chairman of Lyon & Turnbull and president of Freeman’s in Philadelphia, recalled seeing the document on Christmas Eve.

“This was a great effort from both teams on both sides of the Atlantic, a very proud moment for me personally – an international team working in perfect harmony to achieve a wonderful result on behalf of an extremely appreciative and supportive client.

“When Cathy Marsden first showed me this document on Christmas Eve I knew it was interesting, but today’s outcome – achieving $4,420,000 on the eve of Independence Day weekend nearly 4,000 miles away – is extraordinary.”

Why was the copy connected to Charles Carroll?

The document was not simply an old reproduction of the Declaration.

Its history could be traced back to Charles Carroll of Carrollton, who was the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. According to the supplied material, Carroll received two of the William Stone copies.

Stone was commissioned to reproduce the Declaration in the early 1820s. The National Archives material cited in the reports says the copies were produced as part of an effort to preserve the historic document.

After Carroll died in 1832, one copy passed to his grandson-in-law, John MacTavish, a Scottish-Canadian diplomat who had married Carroll’s granddaughter Emily Caton.

MacTavish later signed the document, and it subsequently remained within a Scottish family.

At some point, however, its location was lost from view.

For generations, the document remained in the family before eventually ending up among papers stored in an attic in Scotland. That long period of uncertainty is part of what made Marsden’s discovery so remarkable.

How did the Declaration copy cross the Atlantic?

The document’s journey was almost as striking as its rediscovery. Darren Winston, head of Freeman’s Books and Manuscripts department, said the copy was likely transported to the British Isles aboard a sailing ship in the 1800s. From there, it may have continued its journey by horse-drawn carriage or train.

The trip was thought to have taken around six weeks. Nearly two centuries later, its return journey was dramatically faster. After being sold, the document was transported back to the United States by plane and car in about two days.

“That's not just a long time between trips; that's practically the entire history of transportation,” Winston said.

The document had therefore travelled from the early years of American history through generations of a Scottish family before eventually returning to the country whose independence it represented.

Why did the document sell for $4.42 million?

The rare copy attracted major attention when Freeman’s offered it for auction. It ultimately sold for $4,420,000, considerably above the auction house’s estimate. The sale also made it the highest-selling Stone copy of the Declaration of Independence, according to the supplied Freeman’s material. The seller chose to remain anonymous.

The discovery also drew attention because the document had remained unaccounted for for generations. Its connection to Charles Carroll added another layer to its history, linking the copy directly to one of the men who signed the original Declaration in 1776.

For the July 4 period, the National Park Service arranged for the rediscovered document to be displayed at Philadelphia’s Second Bank of the United States.

What had once been an overlooked folded document in a Scottish attic had become a highly valued piece of American history.

Marsden described the moment of discovery in simple terms:

“What at first glance appeared to be an unassuming old document nestled within a pile of papers, has turned out to be a fascinating and important piece of American history.”

The story of the Declaration copy is ultimately one of disappearance, family inheritance and an unexpected discovery. For nearly 180 years, its whereabouts were unknown. Then, inside an ancestral home in Scotland, it was found among old papers.

Its journey did not end there. After crossing the Atlantic once again, the document reached the auction block and sold for $4.42 million, giving the long-lost Declaration copy another remarkable chapter in its already extraordinary history.

FAQs

Where was the Declaration copy found?
It was discovered among old papers in an attic at a Scottish ancestral home.

Who originally received the copy?
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the Declaration’s signers, received it.