Anna Plumstead didn't know that her attic in Wiscasset,Me.held a very priceless treasure: A rare early copy of the Declaration of Independence delivered to her town in 1776 as part of a campaign to spread the message of independence throughout the original 13 colonies

The copy, printed in Salem Massachusetts in 1776, was discovered after Plumstead died in 1994. The document changed hands through a series of auctions after finally ending up with a private collector from Virginia who paid $475,000 for it in 2001.

Now, the state of Maine wants to reclaim the document, arguing a state statute orders public documents remains public property until the government explicitly relinquishes ownership.

William Stokes, deputy state attorney general representing Maine said, "In our view it belongs to the community. A trial is set next month after the collector filed a suit," reported the New York Times.

Stokes adds, "It got separated from the community through the passage of time, but our position is it never belonged to anyone other than the town of Wiscasset."

Plumstead's father served as Wiscasset town clerk from 1885 to 1929, and state officials theorized that he kept public records at home like many local officials of the era. David Cheever, Maine's archivist, said he believed the document was handed to her father by the pastor who first received the document and read it to his congregation.

"It's uncommon, to say the least, to find these," Cheever said. "They're not plentiful out there."