Rare Harry Potter Books Found In Waste Container Set To Make Thousands At Auction In UK

Three first-edition Harry Potter books found in a skip are expected to sell for thousands at auction.

Two paperback and one hardback versions of J K Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone are going up for sale later this month after being discovered when a school was throwing old books away in preparation for an Ofsted inspection.

The 65-year-old owner — a teacher who didn't want to be named — saw the books in the skip 12 years ago and and said it "seemed awful to throw them away".

She added: "I had no idea they were of any value, and neither did the school.

"They'd been well-read and the school always ensured its library was pristine for Ofsted inspections."

The books had ended up in her loft before she realised first-edition copies sold for thousands after seeing a programme on television.

The books will be sold at a online-only auction on May 21 at Bishton Hall in Staffordshire. Auctioneers estimate the books could fetch up to £18,000 (S$31,500).

Hansons book expert Jim Spencer said: "Hardback first editions of Philosopher's Stone are as rare as hens' teeth. They're the holy grail for collectors." According to BBC, there were 500 hardback first editions of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone printed in 1997.

In 2019, a first-edition Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone with two typos fetched £28,500 at an auction. — BANG