Harry Potter first edition smashes auction record

A first edition of ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ set a world record at auction on Thursday when it sold for $471,000, making the book “the most expensive commercially published 20th-century work of fiction ever sold.”

The 1997 hardback edition of the book was described by Heritage Auctions, which oversaw the bidding, as “so very near pristine it’s surreal to hold.” It is believed that only 500 copies with the same binding were produced, making the item a rare find for collectors.

With previous auctions for Harry Potter first editions fetching around $110,000 to $138,000, the bidding on this item began at $75,000 but quickly shot up to $471,000. While it’s known that it was bought by an American collector, they chose to remain anonymous.

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The final sale price made it the most expensive Harry Potter book ever sold and set a world record for a 20th-century work of fiction, according to a statement from Heritage Auctions.

The book, the first in a series written by British author JK Rowling, follows the adventures of a boy wizard through his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Collectively, they have sold more than 500 million copies worldwide in 80 languages.

In 2001, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ was turned into a film, with the next seven releases helping to bring in a total of $7.8 billion at the global box office.