( News.com.au ) A RARE 710-year-old copy of the Magna Carta - identical to one owned by the Australian Government - is going on the market in New York with a price of up to $US30 million ($34.6 million).
The copy from 1297 is due to be sold by the Perot Foundation at Sotheby's in New York in December.
The Magna Carta established the rights of the English people and curbed the power of the king. The charter, which rebellious barons forced their oppressive King John to sign in 1215, is still in force in Australia and parts of Britain.
The Magna Carta was ratified and reissued by each monarch who succeeded John. Its provisions were enacted as law by the British parliament in 1297 when it was reissued by King Edward I. The copy to be sold in New York is from 1297.
Sotheby's said there were fewer than 20 copies of the Magna Carta in existence, and that this one, which has been on display at the US National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, was one of only two held outside Britain.
The other copy, also from 1297, is owned by the Australian Government and is on display at Parliament House in Canberra. The Government bought the copy in 1952, paying ?12,500 ($28,800) to a British school that needed to sell it to raise money.
Hilary Penfold , secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, said the results of the Sotheby's auction would affect the valuation of Australia's copy. The copy is valued at $15 million following a $25 million write-down in 2005.