UPDATED: First Edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” Up for Auction in England Now

by · December 10, 2020

Let’s be honest here: Who among us hasn’t dreamed of owning a rare Harry Potter book? One family in Lancashire, England, found a rare first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the book is being auctioned off this weekend!

Fleetwood Weekly News reported that Karen Rumsey, from Blackpool, discovered the book while she and her daughter, Charlotte, were cleaning out her house.

Charlotte explained how it happened.

I’d been helping [M]um have a clear[-]out during lockdown, as she’s downsizing. We’d put lots of things aside for a car boot sale in Blackpool, including the Harry Potter book, which we’d had since 1999. A friend of the family gave it to us for me and my brothers to read, as they thought we might enjoy it.

After watching an episode of Antiques Roadshow where someone had brought some Harry Potter books to be appraised, however, Charlotte decided to check with her mother to see if the book was actually a first edition. Sure enough, it was!

I thought maybe we might have a first edition and rang [M]um to ask her to double[-]check our book. She took it out of the box, and I began reading out the issue points that identify it as first edition. As she turned the pages to check each one, everything seemed to be exactly the same.

This copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is being auctioned off by Hansons Auctioneers, which recently auctioned off a first-edition copy of Philosopher’s Stone from an anonymous British expatriate. The auction began on December 10 and runs until December 11 at 10:30 a.m. GMT. You can find more details on the auction on the Saleroom.

There are multiple Harry Potter items up for auction in addition to the first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, though its current bid at the time of publication was £2,200 (nearly $3,000).

According to Charlotte, her fiancé is a teacher and a Harry Potter fan but turned down her offer of the book.

My fiancé, Kyle Gillies, a teacher, is a huge Harry Potter fan. We actually offered him the book before we put it in the car boot box, but he said no, as he had plenty.

Would you like to add this Harry Potter book to your collection? Tell us in the comments below!

UPDATE (December 20):

As expected, this first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was sold for much more than the current bid at the time of publication. The book was one of two first editions that went up for auction with Hansons Auctioneers on the same day and sold for £50,000 (over $67,000).

 

 

The other first edition, which sold for £68,000 due to its immaculate condition, has broken Hansons Auctioneers’ Potter sales record.

 

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