The first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for £68k
It seems the magic of the Harry Potter series goes beyond its content, as it was sold at an auction for 68,000 pounds sterling.
The issue was among 500 hardback copies printed in 1997, before JK Rowling’s fantasy series swept the world with its phenomenal success
Another first edition, which nearly sold for 50p in a car boot sale, drew £50,000 in an online auction at Hansons Auctioneers in Staffordshire. A library copy featuring date stamps sold for £19,000, while a fourth sold for £17,500.
The issues were among the first 500 hardback copies printed, of which 300 were sent to schools and libraries. At the time those copies were selling for £10.99.
They say old objects hold sentimental values while others claim that we should dispose of old and unused things, yet on this occasion it does seem both theories are wrong, for there is a hidden value in these things and never has the cliché ‘old is gold’ sounded truer than now.
Charlotte Rumsey initially put a copy found in her mother’s box of unwanted things in a 50p box for a car boot sale in July. But after watching an antique show on TV, she set out to research more about the book.
The copy was one of the rarer 200 that went to shops and sold for £50,000. In October, another first edition sold for a hammer price of £60,000.
