First-Edition “Philosopher’s Stone” Sold for £28,000 at Auction

A first-edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was featured on an episode of the TV show Bargain Hunt, where it sold for £28,000.

Of the 500 first-edition copies of Philosopher’s Stone, this particular copy was one of 300 books sent to libraries across the United Kingdom. According to the stickers inside the book, its original home was the Staffordshire libraries network, where it arrived in September 1997.

The first edition is sure to have delighted many readers before eventually leaving the library network. The seller purchased the book for 25 pence at a rummage sale, and according to Metro, the book sat on a bookshelf for 20 years before it was valued in 2019 and put up for auction in the summer.

The book was featured on an episode of Bargain Hunt, a BBC show that sees two teams purchase items at antique fairs and compete to see who will make the most profit at auction. During the most recent episode, a feature on the journey of this copy of Philosopher’s Stone was shown along with some tips for spotting one of the 500 rare first editions.

This first-edition copy may have sold for a staggering amount, but according to the feature on Bargain Hunt, the sellers will be spending their earnings on something a bit more down-to-earth:

All our client wants to do with [the money] is buy a new bathroom.

This isn’t the only first edition that has gone up for auction in the past few years. At two other auctions in March and October 2019, first editions of Philosopher’s Stone sold for £70,000 and £46,000, respectively.