The documents have been hanging on an office wall in the Sangamon County Courthouse in the state capital, Springfield, for years, The State Journal-Register reports. Recorder Mary Ann Lamm said she remembers a flap in the 1960s when her predecessor, Russ Gibbs, removed them from ledgers and used public money to get them framed.

Lincoln autographs are fairly common and can be bought for as little as $4,200. Documents with his signature are rare because autograph hunters went through legal archives immediately after his assassination, slicing off the signatures.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and Lincoln Presidential Library apparently assumed anything from Sangamon County would already be in the archives.

The three documents involve ordinary financial transactions. In one, a woman signed a loan document after borrowing $125 from Lincoln to buy a house.

One is of some interest because it is dated June 9, 1860. At the time, Lincoln was winding up his legal practice as he prepared to run for president.