A $1 Yard Sale Copy of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone' Could Sell for More Than $37,000

Around 1999, an office worker from Stafford, England was browsing at a yard sale when he came across a 1997 print version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. He purchased the book for $1, thinking nothing more than that it would be a nice read, as the New York Post reports.

What he didn’t know was that the copy he purchased is actually one of just 500 original copies, complete with misspellings and typos. Around 20 years later, that now-54-year-old gentleman could receive upwards of $37,000 for his light vacation read.

The man, who has not been named, said: “I thought nothing of it at the time. I read the book…and then put it away in a cupboard for years…It’s so exciting to think that a holiday read could be worth so much now.”

Earlier this year, a first edition copy of the same book autographed by Rowling sold at auction for $90,000. The auction for this recently-discovered copy does not have a determined date yet, but we can expect the man to walk away with a pretty penny.

This is why it (literally) pays to read, kids.

This article also appears on Mental Floss.