The document is a reminder we’ve been fighting autocracy for centuries – and we can’t give up nowSometimes, miraculous financial windfalls happen when you need them most. A college student finding $20 in a jacket pocket on a Friday night. A relative who you didn’t really even like dropping dead and leaving you with a hefty inheritance. Or an institution of higher learning discovering they have an original copy of the Magna Carta. I’m sure you can relate.Harvard University recently found the antiquities equivalent of a $20 bill in its archives. What was once thought to be an unofficial copy of King Edward I’s declaration of principles is now confirmed to be one of seven remaining legitimate documents left in the world. Harvard purchased this item in 1946 for a whopping $27.50, or $452.40 in today’s money. Now that the piece’s provenance is confirmed, it’s fair to say it’s actually priceless.Dave Schilling is a Los Angeles-based writer and humorist Continue reading... Politics
The Harvard Law School Library document has been verified to be an authentic copy of the Magna Carta from 1300 Politics
More than 700 years after the iconic document was originally drafted, new analysis has found the handwriting and sizing of Harvard's $27.50 auction snap up are consistent with authentic records. Economics
The document was purchased by Harvard Law School for the "fairly derisory price" Economics
The document is over 700 years old Politics
Magna Carta was the first document to confirm the rights of ordinary people under common law Economics
Harvard University for decades assumed it had a cheap copy of the Magna Carta in its collection, a stained and faded document it had purchased for less than $30 Politics
Tests were carried out on the Harvard Law School Library document and it was confirmed to be an original issue of the Magna Carta from 1300. Politics
Document issued by Edward I in 1300 was bought by law school library for just $27 in 1946A Magna Carta wrongly listed as an unofficial copy for nearly 80 years has been confirmed as an original from 1300.The discovery means the document is just one of seven issued in 1300 by Edward I that still survive. Continue reading... Politics