A rare first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, which was nearly discarded, has fetched over £21,000 at auction.

The book, part of the first print run of just 500 copies, was discovered among the belongings of a deceased man in Brixham. Auctioneer Daniel Pearce, who runs NLB Auctions in Paignton, found it before it was thrown away and recognized its value.

The sale took place on Saturday, with bidders participating in person, over the phone, and online. The auction house scheduled the lot for 16:00 GMT to accommodate collectors on the U.S. West Coast.

Pearce described the final price as “an absolutely great result for a first edition hardback.” He identified it as a true first edition by spotting errors later corrected in subsequent prints, including a misspelling of “philosopher’s” on the back cover, where the final “o” was missing.

“This copy was one of the 300 distributed to public libraries,” he explained.

Following a competitive bidding process, the book was ultimately sold to an overseas buyer.

“It’s a fantastic outcome,” Pearce said. “The owner will be delighted with the result.” Photo by Suzelfe, Wikimedia commons.