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The seller was contacted by a collector, whose name Sprudza declined to reveal. Both sides are currently negotiating.

Sprudza informed that the signed oaths are in the possession of a man who had been a Saeima Chancellery staff member. In 1940, fearing the occupation authorities would destroy them, placed the oaths in safekeeping. In 1944, like thousands of others, he departed from Latvia. Among his belongings - the oaths, holding onto them for all these many years.

Reportedly the collector will verify the legitimacy of the documents, determined to visit the seller personally. "Now that we have established contact, the price of the document might change," Sprudza said, adding that if the said documents turn out to be authentic, the State Archives will request funds from the state budget in order to retrieve them.

Sprudza had expressed the view previously that the price tag posted is too high, and that Latvia should receive the oaths as a gift.

As reported, oaths signed by the first three presidents of Latvia – Janis Cakste, Gustavs Zemgals and Alberts Kviesis, have been put up for bidding on the online marketplace E-bay for USD 30,000 (EUR 24,420).

Experts say that if the signed oaths are authentic, their proper place is Latvia.