The current owner of the papyrus states that he acquired the papyrus in 1999. Upon request for information about provenance, the owner provided me with a photocopy of a contract for the sale of “6 Coptic papyrus fragments, one believed to be a Gospel” from Hans-Ulrich Laukamp, dated November 12, 1999, and signed by both parties. A handwritten comment on the contract states: “Seller surrenders photocopies of correspondence in German. Papyri were acquired in 1963 by the seller in Potsdam (East Germany).”The Livescience article cites Laukamp's attorney (Rene Ernest) as claiming that Laukamp did not own papyri and was not a collector, although this was never claimed by King. In fact, King cites the deed of sale as being an English-language document. Furthermore, the Livescience report erroneously claims that because Laukamp lived in West Berlin in 1963 (when the deed of sale claims Laukamp bought the papyrus), he could not have travelled to Potsdam. Potsdam is a separate town, immediately adjacent to West Berlin. Although East Germans could not travel to West Berlin, West Berliners could travel into East Germany. In fact, this fits perfectly with King's narrative which directly links the notes to the Freie Universität in 1982, located in West Berlin. Thus, King's narrative seems to fit with the Livescience article, except for the claim from Rene Ernest, an estate attorney, that Laukamp was not a collector and did not own such a document. Naturally, Laukamp would not have owned the document when he died in 2002, because he sold it in 1999 according to King's narrative.
"'Gospel of Jesus's Wife': Doubts Raised About Ancient Text", Owen Jarus, Live Science