START RUMMAGING.
Most of us queued at midnight for our Harry Potter books, back in the day.
And while we all got a copy, there are a few lucky sods who got them on the first print run. Those jammie kids might just be sitting on an absolute fortune now.
According to book marketplace AbeBooks, certain editions of the books could be worth up to £40,000.
Hardcover first edition first printings of The Philosopher’s Stone are the ‘Holy Grail’ for collectors. Only 500 copies were initially printed of the 1997 book and 300 went to libraries.
The main characteristics of a 1997 first edition first issue are a print line that reads 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 and the crediting of “Joanne Rowling” not JK. Prices on AbeBooks vary from $40,000 to $55,000.
Holy moly.
Prices for a hardcover first edition of The Chamber of Secrets are also highly desirable. First printings go up to $9,000.
In 1998, JK Rowling was still a struggling author rather than a household name, so there are a reasonable number of signed first editions available from her book tour signings.
Signed deluxe editions can go for four figures.
The Prisoner of Azkaban is valued because the initial hardcover print run was stopped mid-printing after it was discovered that ‘Joanne Rowling’ rather than ‘JK Rowling’ had been printed on the copyright page.
Joanne versions are available for prices starting at around £1,500 and go up to $12,000 for signed pristine copies.
By Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire, JK was signing far fewer copies. Any signed Globet of Fire can go for 4 figures.
