Harry Potter book bought for 30p could fetch £5,000

A uncommon Harry Potter publication which was bought for 30p could fetch up to £5,000 astatine auction.

The archetypal variation transcript of The Philosopher's Stone was 1 of 500 produced and was bought by a Staffordshire antheral who died earlier this year.

It had been placed successful retention and his sister said she feared it was lost.

Lichfield based auctioneer Richard Winterton said it would beryllium "a magical moment" erstwhile it was sold connected 10 July.

The owner's sister said the helium had a lifelong passionateness for books and ephemera.

She did not privation to beryllium identified, but said of her brother: "He started dealing successful books and memorabilia erstwhile helium was inactive astatine school.

"He would spell to jumble income and religion fairs and would travel backmost with a heap of annuals oregon comics."

The Harry Potter book, published successful 1997, was 1 of 300 issued to libraries and was bought by the antheral from Wolverhampton Libraries.

The owner's sister said: "When helium moved location 4 years agone helium virtually enactment everything into hundreds of boxes, galore of which went into containers."

She said helium knew helium had the book, but could not retrieve where, truthful they assumed it had been mislaid somehow.

"Now it's travel to airy again we, arsenic a family, are rather excited," she added.

The proprietor died unexpectedly astatine the property of 55 and the publication was yet recovered aft a squad from Richard Winterton Auctioneers went done his belongings.

Mr Winterton said: "It has intelligibly been well-read, which is astir befitting of 1 of the archetypal tally of books which helped substance the aboriginal popularity of Potter - which, of course, rapidly evolved into a planetary phenomenon."