Washington ( CNN ) -- The only original copy of the Magna Carta in private hands worldwide has a fancy new display case at the National Archives , where the document goes on display next month . `` This 700-year-old document looks better than ever , '' said David Ferriero , the archivist of the United States . He said Thursday that the handwritten , fragile parchment will be unveiled February 17 . The owner of the display copy was also at Thursday 's preview . David Rubenstein , co-founder of the Carlyle Group investment company , said , `` it is my privilege as an American to be able to give this back to the Archives and let them preserve it , as they have done , and to let them display it as they are going to do . '' After an initial presentation to the public in 2008 , when Rubenstein got the document at a Sotheby 's auction for more than $ 20 million , it was taken off display for replacement of the old , unappealing box made out of aluminum and glass , with a green fabric liner . The new display box , crafted from aircraft-quality metal , is filled with argon gas to minimize deterioration of the parchment on which the handwritten Latin provisions of the Magna Carta were first inscribed in 1297 . The document seems to float above the floor of the display case , just below special glass that blocks damaging ultraviolet light and minimizes glare from subdued external lighting that will be used to illuminate the display . `` If we could read medieval Latin , it would be perfectly legible , '' said Catherine Nicholson , one of the ranking conservators who led the yearlong restoration and re-encasement project at the National Archives . She said they were able to repair damaged sections of the parchment and have confirmed certain letters in the text by using special photography and lighting . `` We have every reason to believe that 800 years from now , they will still be in fabulous shape , '' she concluded . Engineers from the National Institutes of Standards and Technology carried out the specifications of the National Archives in building the display case . Rubenstein took the opportunity to explain the significance fo the Magna Carta and why he hopes the public display will help people understand American history . `` This became the law of the land of England and remains the law of the land in England , '' he began , noting that those who came to the colonies in America considered themselves Englishmen with the same rights as those at home . When royalty said the colonists did not enjoy equal rights , it set the stage for American independence . The founding fathers affirmed many elements of English law in establishing the United States . `` Our whole government is based on no taxation without representation , '' Rubenstein noted . `` We have the right to habeus corpus ; we have punishment in proportion to the crime , trial by jury '' and other fundamental principles originally requested nearly 800 years ago by the lords of the king of England . `` If you read the early writings of Hamilton and Jefferson and Adams and Madison , many times , they say 'it 's because of the Magna Carta that we 're doing this , ' `` he said . Only 17 copies of the Magna Carta are known to be in existence . Fifteen of them are in British institutions , one is in the Australian parliament , according to Rubenstein , `` and this is the only one in private hands , '' he said . `` Ross Perot bought this in the early 1980s , '' Rubenstein said , describing some of the previous ownership of his copy . He said Perot had purchased it from a family that held it for more than 500 years but had fallen on hard times and sold it to raise money . Rubenstein is well-known within philanthropic circles . In recent weeks , he donated more than $ 7 million to help repair the Washington Monument from last summer 's earthquake . He also owns a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation , on display in the Oval Office of the White House , `` and I 've lent a copy of the Declaration of Independence to the State Department , '' he said . `` Everybody in life has certain things that they like , '' he said , `` and I guess one of the things I like is buying these documents and owning them . '' Rubenstein suggested that it is satisfying to have invested in history , `` but you ca n't be buried with these documents , as far as I know . So you can assume that the appropriate place will see these documents when I 'm not on this Earth . ''
Parchment document dating to 1297 gets new display box . Score: 6 American democracy and rule of law are drawn from the Magna Carta .