- A letter written by Alexander Hamilton, believed to be stolen decades ago, is on display.
- The letter was believed to be stolen by a worker at the Massachusetts state archive.
- The letter resurfaced when an auctioneer reported it stolen to the FBI after a family attempted to sell it.
- After an intense legal battle, the letter was returned to the Commonwealth Museum in Boston.
A letter written by Alexander Hamilton in 1780 that was believed to be stolen is on display at the Commonwealth Museum in Boston, The Associated Press reported on Sunday.
The letter was long-believed to be stolen and sold by a "kleptomaniacal cataloguer" between 1938 and 1945 from the Massachusetts state archive, per the AP. The letter warned Massachusetts General, William Heath, of a British threat to french troops in Rhode Island.
"We have just received advice from New York through different channels that the enemy are making an embarkation with which they menace the French fleet and army," Hamilton wrote in the letter, according to the AP. "Fifty transports are said to have gone up the Sound to take in troops and proceed directly to Rhode Island."
The AP said the letter resurfaced several years ago by an auctioneer in Virginia who contacted the FBI. The auctioneer received the letter from a family who wanted to sell it. According to the Associated Press, the letter was estimated to sell for as much as $35,000.
A legal battle would soon follow. The estate of the person who possessed the letter had claimed it was purchased legally and belonged to them. However, the AP reported that last October a federal appeals court ruled that it belonged to the state.
The letter will now be featured as part of the Commonwealth Museum's annual July Fourth exhibit, state officials told the AP — the first time the public is getting a chance to see it since it was returned to the state after a lengthy court battle.