Doyle New York is to offer a rare 1776 newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence later this year.

It was printed in the Pennsylvania Journal on July 10, 1776, six days after the document was ratified by the Second Continental Congress.

This is believed to be the rarest newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence

It's among the rarest newspaper printings of the document extant.

As the auction house explains: "This issue of The Pennsylvania Journal and the Weekly Advertiser, one of the earliest printings of the Declaration of Independence in any form, is possibly the only copy in a private collection, the other eight examples being held by institutions…

"[It] is a highly desirable and rare item of Americana that delivers not only our country's founding document, but also evokes the tremendous urgency, trepidation and elation felt by those present in Philadelphia during our nation's first days in July, 1776."

No estimate is available for the present lot, but a copy of the Declaration printed in the July 6, 1776 edition of the Philadelphia Evening Post realised $550,000 in 2013.

While that was the first printing of the document in a newspaper, it's also more common - with around 19 copies known.  

The rarity of the present specimen could see it surpass that sum.

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