Geoffrey Smith, an assistant professor of early Christianity at the University of Texas, was searching eBay when he discovered a 1,700-year-old papyrus fragment of the Gospel of John offered with a starting bid of $99.

Recognizing it as a rare scroll in Greek with a fragment of text from John I, 50-51, Dr. Smith contacted the seller so that the piece wouldn't disappear into a private colleciton. The rare document was pulled from eBay, but where it will end up is unknown.