ANNVILLE, Pa. — Buried amongst a slew of similar documents and housed in a beat up old frame at a flea market is not how one would expect to find a priceless historical document, but that is exactly how Tom Lingenfelter found this one.
Lingenfelter was in the market for a replica of the Declaration of Independence when he came across a stand selling what he thought was a replica from the late 1800s. It was years later that he discovered that this copy is one of only two known original copies to exist.
Created using anastatic printing, the priceless document is still incredibly legible and well maintained. The copying technique used is believed to be the reason why the original document itself is no longer legible.
The only other such copy of the original document resides at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
A collector of historic documents, Lingenfelter initially thought that this incredible piece of history was junk, but it caught his eye.
“I saw that it was a Declaration and I thought that's interesting. I told the guy I said if you don’t sell it when I come back I’ll buy it cause he wanted $125 for it,” said Lingenfelter when describing how he acquired the document.
That's the price he bought it for, and says that he one day plans to donate it to a museum.