First Edition Harry Potter Book Sold For £60,000 At Auction

14 October 2020, 13:25

A first edition Harry Potter book was sold for thousands at a recent auction.

If you’re having a clear out during lockdown, it might be worth hunting down the first Harry Potter book you purchased as one first edition of The Philosopher’s Stone has just sold for £60,000 at auction.

The rare copy was valued between £20,000 and £30,000 and was previously owned by a dad who used it to teach his three children English after they moved to Luxembourg from England.

Tom Felton Posts Cute Throwback With Harry Potter Co-Stars Emma Watson And Daniel Radcliffe

The book was one of only 500 hardback first editions printed.

After decades of gathering dust on the shelf the owner decided to get it valued and was shocked at how much it was worth.

It went up for auction at Hansons Auctioneers in Etwall, Derbyshire on Tuesday.

Hansons book expert Jim Spencer said: "I'm absolutely thrilled the book achieved such an outstanding price for our vendor.

"I hoped it would make £50,000 but to see it sail past that to reach £60,000 was astonishing.

Liam Payne asks Tom Felton to recite lines from Harry Potter

"It's the highest price ever paid at Hansons for a hardback first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It's the fourth one I have found in just over a year.”

The auction price of the rare books has continued to rise; Hansons' book expert added: "The first one, a former Staffordshire library book bought for £1, made £28,500. The hammer price has risen with every subsequent sale."

The books are considered “holy grails” for collectors.

> Grab Our App For The Latest Reality TV News And Gossip