'Harry Potter' first edition hardback bought for 28p auctioned for £28,000

A rare first edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that was bought for just 25p has just recently sold for  £28,000 on Bargain Hunt. The rare edition was just one of 500 hardbacks copies in existence. The book was on of 300 that were sent across UK libraries out of the 500 first edition copies that were printed.

Unique because of a spelling mistake

The book was bought by a UK collector last summer after an intense bidding war. The delighted seller while speaking to the local media said that he could hardly believe it, he wished that the book would sell for a good amount but never believe it would make that price. 

The reason why the book is unique because 500 of the originals have the word 'philosopher' misspelt on the back cover and the word wan is listed twice on the spell equipment section on page 53. The auctioneers that sold the book on behalf of the owner knew that the book was genuine because the book still had a sticker inside that indicated the previous owner, Staffordshire Libraries.

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In the first editions the author who is credited is referred to as 'Joanne Rowling', the later editions changed her name to using her initials instead. The auction house presenter  Natasha Raskin was told by auctioneer Charles Hanson that the man who sold the book only wished to get a new bathroom with the money. Jim Spencer, head of books at Hanson's said that even the softback publications that are first editions are selling for thousands of pounds.

Harry Potter books are an iconic book series based on a fictional world created by the writer JK Rowling. The book series is famous and was adapted into an equally successful movie franchise. It has been eight years since the iconic Harry Potter movie series came to an end. In July 2011, the last part of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, released.

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