If you have a set of J.K. Rowling’s immensely popular Harry Potter books sitting on your bookshelf collecting dust, listen up: A rare first edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” contains a typo that makes it worth a lot of money.
In case you’re wondering how much money is at stake, a copy of one of the first edition books with the mistake — which was released in 1997 — is expected to bring in up to $25,760 at auction, according to this press release from Bonhams Auction House.
So get out your first Harry Potter book, turn to page 53 and check out the list of required supplies for Hogwarts’ students. If it erroneously lists “1 wand” two times, that’s the book that’s worth a lot of money.
Unfortunately, if you have an American version of the first book in the series — retitled “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — you won’t be able to cash in.
The book publisher printed just 500 copies of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” with the mistake, so now it’s become a rare, highly prized collector’s edition book. According to Bonhams:
The first edition comes in various formats, but the most valuable is the first impression of the hardback, which must carry the number sequence 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 on the reverse of the title-page. The second impression of the hardback is also of some value, as is the first impression of the paperback
Bonhams is selling one of the books, which it lists as being in “exceptionally fine condition,” at an auction on Nov. 9 in London. It’s expected to fetch between 15,000 and 20,000 British pounds, or roughly $19,320 to $25,760.
Learn more about collectibles by reading, “Want More Return on Your Savings? Try Trading in Collectibles.”
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