Current:Home > StocksHarry Potter first edition found in bargain bin sells for $69,000 at auction-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Harry Potter first edition found in bargain bin sells for $69,000 at auction
View Date:2024-12-24 00:29:17
A first edition copy of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," printed in 1997, sold for more than £55,000 — about $69,000 — on Monday, according to Hansons Auctioneers.
The 58-year-old seller bought the hardcover copy for £10 — between $12 and $13 — after she spotted it in a bargain bucket in a shop in the Scottish Highlands 26 years ago. Just 500 copies were printed in the first run of hardbacks, with 300 going to schools and libraries and 200 going out to bookshops, Hansons' books expert Jim Spencer said.
"This was a genuine, honest first issue and a fantastically well-preserved example," said Spencer. "It was fresh to market and it deserved to go full steam like the Hogwarts Express."
The unidentified seller learned about Harry Potter after reading one of J. K. Rowling's first interviews, according to the auction house.
"I bought the Harry Potter book before anyone really knew much about it, or the author," she said in a Hansons Auctioneers news release. "I found it during a family caravan trip touring 'round the highlands of Scotland."
She even got a couple of pounds — about $2 — knocked off the price because the book had no dust jacket. The mom said her children enjoyed the book as a bedtime story throughout their vacation.
Years ago, her children read something online about identifying first editions. They told her they thought they had one.
"But I said the edition was worthless due to it having no dust jacket. Some time later I learned the book was never released with a dust jacket," the mom said. "At that point, we stored the book away. It lived like the young Harry Potter did, in the cupboard under the stairs."
She forgot it there for a while before contacting Spencer at Hansons.
"My children are grown up now and I thought it was time for someone else to have the pleasure of owning a rare piece of literary history," the mom said.
It was sold for £55,104 to a private UK online buyer. Other first edition copies of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" have sold at auction for between £17,500 and £69,000, plus buyer's premium, depending on their condition.
"Most examples are quite badly worn, especially ex-library copies," Hanson said. "They've often been shared among friends and carried around in school rucksacks, which in some ways is lovely, capturing the buzz of Harry Potter when it first gained popularity. However, more traditional collectors are incredibly fussy about condition, which helped this book fulfill its potential."
The book, which was re-titled "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" for American audiences, was published by Scholastic in the U.S. in 1998, with an initial printing of 50,000 copies.
- In:
- Harry Potter
Aliza Chasan is a digital producer at 60 Minutes and CBSNews.com. She has previously written for outlets including PIX11 News, The New York Daily News, Inside Edition and DNAinfo. Aliza covers trending news, often focusing on crime and politics.
TwitterveryGood! (4426)
Related
- Don't Miss This Sweet Moment Between Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Dads at the Kansas City Chiefs Game
- This Viral Pumpkin Dutch Oven Is on Sale -- Shop These Deals From Staub, Le Creuset & More
- Will Hurricane Helene emerge like a monster from the Gulf?
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs and his former bodyguard accused of drugging and raping woman in 2001
- Kendall Jenner Is Back to Being a Brunette After Ditching Blonde Hair
- Tropical Weather Latest: Tropical Storm Helene forms in Caribbean, Tropical Storm John weakens
- Suit seeks to overturn Georgia law on homeless voter registration and voter challenges
- Man who staked out Trump at Florida golf course charged with attempting an assassination
- Channing Tatum Drops Shirtless Selfie After Zoë Kravitz Breakup
- A man who killed 2 Dartmouth professors as a teen is challenging his sentence
Ranking
- DWTS' Sasha Farber Claps Back at Diss From Jenn Tran's Ex Devin Strader
- EPA data make it hard to know the extent of the contamination from last year’s Ohio derailment
- Retirement on Arizona right-leaning high court gives Democratic governor rare chance to fill seat
- JoJo Siwa's glittery jockstrap and chest plate outfit prompts mixed reactions
- Threat closes Spokane City Hall and cancels council meeting in Washington state
- Brent Venables says Oklahoma didn't run off QB Dillon Gabriel: 'You can't make a guy stay'
- The chunkiest of chunks face off in Alaska’s Fat Bear Week
- LaBrant Family Faces Backlash for Having Daughter Everleigh Dance to Diddy Song
Recommendation
-
Martin Scorsese on the saints, faith in filmmaking and what his next movie might be
-
Johnny Depp Addresses Media Frenzy over His and Amber Heard's Legal Battle
-
Climate Week 2024 underway in New York. Here's what to know.
-
T.I., Tiny win $71M in lawsuit with toy company over OMG Girlz dolls likeness: Reports
-
Real Housewives of New York City Star’s Pregnancy Reveal Is Not Who We Expected
-
The Ultimatum's Madlyn Ballatori & Colby Kissinger Expecting Baby No. 3
-
FBI: Son of suspect in Trump assassination attempt arrested on child sexual abuse images charges
-
Texas set to execute Travis James Mullis for the murder of his infant son. What to know.