Harry Potter: First edition book sells for £60k at auction

Auctioneer called the sale ‘astonishing’

Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe in The Philosopher's Stone (Warner)

A first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was sold for £60,000 at a recent auction.

The rare copy of JK Rowling’s book had been valued at £30,000 and was owned by a father who had used it to teach his three children English in the Nineties after they moved to Luxembourg from England.

It was identified as a first edition after being posted to auctioneers Hansons in a tea towel, as it has a duplication of the phrase “1 wand” on page 53 and an issue number of "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1".

Auctioneer Jim Spencer said it was the highest price ever paid at Hansons for a copy, and called the sale “astonishing”.

The vendor, a British expat who wanted to remain anonymous, bought the book for his children around 18 months after it was first published in June 1997. 

Author JK Rowling (PA)

He plans to use money to pay off his daughter's student loans.

In May, a first edition of the same book sold for £33,000 at auction after a teacher discovered it in a skip.