document · declaration · independence (документ · декларация · независимость)

A rare copy of the United States Declaration of Independence has been discovered in documents from the British Navy of the 18th century. The UK National Archives announced the finding of this early and uncommon edition.

Consensus

A rare early copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence was discovered in British archives
The document is one of only 11 known 'Exeter editions' printed between July 16-19, 1776
It was found among documents related to the capture of American ship Dalton by the British Royal Navy in December 1776
The discovery was made by volunteer Michael Scherr during cataloging work

Points of divergence

The document was found in the Royal Navy archives related to the War of Independence and was overlooked for a century — kommersant
The document was discovered by examining correspondence between British naval officers from the 18th century — interfax

Coverage (2 sources)

Rare US Declaration of Independence specimen found in Britain — Коммерсантъ
Rare copy of the US Declaration of Independence discovered in documents of the British Navy from the 18th century — Интерфакс

Key entities