A copy of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, purchased for 13p nearly three decades ago, has recently been auctioned off for £11,000.

The uncorrected proof copy of J.K. Rowling’s debut novel was acquired in 1997 from a second-hand store, along with two other books, for a total of 40p.

Auctioneer and Harry Potter expert Jim Spencer expressed his delight at the book’s success, stating that it was the starting point of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

The seller, who prefers to remain anonymous, bought the book at the age of 26 while living in Crystal Palace. She recalls visiting a second-hand bookshop regularly on Saturday mornings, where books were piled haphazardly in baskets on the floor, priced at a maximum of 40p.

Among these books, the Harry Potter novel stood out, possibly mistakenly placed among the Agatha Christies and other mystery novels. The seller purchased it along with two other titles for 40p, without giving it much thought at the time.

According to Mr. Spencer, the title page of the book mistakenly listed the author’s name as “JA Rowling” instead of “JK Rowling”, and on the other side, it appeared as “Joanne Rowling”.

The seller explained that one night while browsing the internet, she came across a news story about the high prices some Harry Potter books were fetching. Intrigued, she reached out to Mr. Spencer to inquire if her copy might also be valuable. She admitted that discovering the book when she did was a fortunate stroke of timing for which she felt grateful and more than a little surprised.