“The $4 Flea Market Painting that Hid the United States Declaration of Independence: A Rare Find Sold for Millions”

In 1991, a Mr. Redden bought a painting at a flea market for $4 because he liked the frame. And to his surprise, the painting actually hid a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Signed in 1776, the Declaration was quickly copied in 200 copies, what were called the “Dunlap broadside.” As the New York Times explains“Mr Redden described the document, found behind the painting when the collector took the frame apart, as a “incredibly intact copy” of the Declaration. “The fact that it was placed on the back of the frame preserved it,” he said. Of the 24 known copies, only three are in the hands of private collectors, he added.“

Also according to the New York Times, the ink on the copy was not yet completely dry when the document was placed in an envelope. “The very first line – ‘In Congress, July 4, 1776’ – appears in the lower margin upside down, as a slight offset or shadow impression, more evidence of urgency than John Dunlap, the printer, and others felt in scattering this document.“

The document was sold in 1991 for $2.2 million. It was then sold for 7.4 million dollars to producer Norman Lear, very popular in the United States for his many TV series.