On Thursday mornings, Michael Scurr flips through pages . . . very, very carefully. He volunteers at the United Kingdom’s National Archives. In May, he made a discovery. He found an original copy of the Declaration of Independence!

At the time, Mr. Scurr was sifting through letters. A Royal Navy captain wrote them. Mr. Scurr found a report. It told of Brits capturing an American ship called Dalton. That took place on Christmas Eve in 1776.

Attached to the report? Something labeled as “another paper.” Mr. Scurr gingerly unfolded the document. Then he spotted the word “Declaration” printed across the top. He stopped.

“I thought, oh, right, OK, this is definitely a Declaration of Independence,” he says. “How exciting is this?”

Researchers agree. Before this find, people thought only 10 early copies existed. Now Mr. Scurr has upped that number to 11. The Founders signed the original document on July 4, 1776. This copy was printed days later. The document spread the news. Thirteen American colonies were breaking away from Great Britain.

So, yes, it’s old. But it’s important for another reason too. The ship on which it was captured was sent by the brand-new Continental Congress. John Hancock signed the ship’s orders. (John Hancock also famously signed the Declaration in BIG letters.)