If you’re anything like me, or you’re around my age you will have likely read the Harry Potter books growing up. Next , how do you tell whether your copy, which may look very similar to the one pictured above, is really a valuable first edition? If you’re no longer a Harry Potter fan and want to sell your copy there are several routes you could take depending on the edition and what it might be worth. Which book is it? Earlier Harry Potter books are more valuable than later books, so a first edition "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone" will be more valuable than a first edition "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" In this post, I’m going to focus on how to tell if you have a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone as that’s the one that’s most likely to be worth some money.

The first Harry Potter book to be published was "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone." Bloomsbury Publishing first printed the book in 1997. A true first edition can be identified using a printing number, which can be found at the very beginning of the book. Bloomsbury Publishing use a reverse number system to identify when a book was printed. If the number ends with one ( for example 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1) you may have a first edition First edition Harry Potter books have become very valuable. Here is how you can tell if you have an original and what it may be worth:

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Adrian Harrington began trading in 1971, as part of Harrington Brothers in the Chelsea Antiques Market on London's fashionable King's Road. He moved to Kensington Church Street in 1997, and in 2014 Adrian relocated to the historic Hall's Bookshop in Royal Tunbridge Wells, occupying the first floor of this iconic building near The Pantiles area of the town. Hall's remains on the ground floor offering an exceptional range of quality used books. If all the above applies and you really do have a Harry Potter First edition book (or more than one making them a set!) there are a few things you might want to consider. Is it signed? If you have a first edition signed by J. K. Rowling the value of the book can be more than three times higher than an unsigned book!

J.K. Rowling is obviously best known as the author of the Harry Potter stories. Rising meteorically from relative poverty and difficulty in Edinburgh to creative super-stardom in an incredibly short space of time it is not too much of a stretch to say that Ms. Rowling has changed the face of publishing, book-selling and indeed reading for millions of people. Nobody is free from the appeal of Harry Potter; from the children the books were originally aimed at to the multitudes of adults craving a little bit more magic that can be seen totally absorbed on the tube in the morning or queuing outside cinemas for the next film installment. Be careful to make sure copies are by the first publisher. For all of the Harry Potter books, the first publisher is Bloomsbury. The first three Harry Potter first edition, first print books can be worth thousands of pounds. The value then decreases incrementally with the second, third and fourth prints, and so on. You may even have a Harry Potter first edition set. Once you know what to look out for it’s worth keeping an eye out in charity shops and at car boot sales in case you come across a Harry Potter Book or even a Harry Potter first edition set that’s worth quite a bit of money. How Can You Tell If A Harry Potter Book Is A First Edition?

Alternatively, you may want to keep your Harry Potter first edition either for sentimental reasons or because a few years down the line as copies become rarer it could be worth substantially more money than it is at the moment. How Much Could Your Harry Potter First Edition Be Worth? Harry Potter First Editions - Harry Potter at Catch The Snitch - Harry Potter news, books, movies, games, merchandise and more -

A hardcover first edition of ‘Harry Potter and The Chamber Secrets’ will often sell for thousands of pounds.To be a first edition, in either hard or soft cover, there are four very important issue points, all of which your book must have:

However, if you still have your copies on a bookshelf somewhere gathering dust there is a possibility one or two of them might be worth something. If you think your copy may be worth thousands an independent valuation followed by an auction may the best way of ensuring you get the full value for your Harry Potter First edition.

For any longtime readers of my blog, you’ll be aware that I am a massive Harry Potter fan. I’ve read the books and seen the films innumerable times. I’ve been the Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I’ve done the Warner Brothers Studio Tour Twice. I even had a Harry Potter Sweet table at my wedding (if this is something you’d like to attempt for yourself you can read my full post on it here!) Any book signed by J.K Rowing will have a much higher value even if it isn’t an early edition or part of Harry Potter First edition set. Rigidly maintaining control over how her characters and stories were represented has created a strange and previously almost unheard of situation where the films and the books travel hand in hand with very little deviation. Most people's idea of Harry the boy wizard is an image not terribly distant from Daniel Radcliffe, their Hermione not too different from Emma Watson. This, amongst other things, the most important of which being sheer readability has resulted in a massive degree of collectability. There are not many of these editions left making them extremely rare, however, even second and third editions of these copies are worth a fair bit of money. There are three other things to look for when trying to determine if you have a Harry Potter First Edition (Philosopher’s Stone)