Harry Potter book saved from bin sells for £21,000

A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, set to be thrown away, has been sold at auction for more than £21,000.

The item went under the hammer at NLB Auctions in Paignton on Saturday with bidders in the room, on the phone and online.

Daniel Pearce, who runs the auction house, found it among the possessions of a deceased man from Brixham that had been earmarked for the bin.

He said the price was "an absolutely great result for a first edition hardback."

He said the book was from the first print run of 500 copies and was among the 300 distributed to public libraries.

The misspelling of 'philosopher's' on the back of the copy was among the things that helped Mr Pearce identify it as a first edition.

"It is missing the o at the end," he said.

The auction house scheduled the lot for about 16:00 GMT to accommodate the time difference for interested parties on the west coast of the USA.

Mr Pearce said: "It's made its way overseas and it's a really good result.

"The owner will be delighted as well with the money."

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