Before you sell a Harry Potter book for a buck or two at a garage sale, it's always worth checking what exactly it is you're offloading.
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The chances you're sitting on something hugely valuable are slightly above zero, but the sale this week of a first edition hard cover of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone for $120,000 in the UK was a reminder that the rare stuff is out there, somewhere.
Margaret Schwebel from Collins Booksellers said the first edition hard cover of J. K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book had a print run of just 500 and featured errors.
"That's what helps make it so rare and so special," she said. Three hundred copies were sent to schools and libraries in the UK, leaving just 200 for the general public.
"Not many people would buy a hard cover copy of the first book by an unknown author," said Mrs Schwebel. "It's not impossible that Auntie Mary in England heard about this really good book and posted it to a great nephew over here, it's a slight chance, you never know."
Mrs Schwebel, who said Rowling's franchise and offshoots had been a "good friend" of Collins for 20 years, owns a piece of valuable Potter, having paid about $250 12 years ago for a box set of books with adult-style covers.
She has resisted all temptation to open it, and last time she checked it was worth thousands of dollars.
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