The 10 most valuable books that could make YOU a fortune – including Harry Potter
IF you spent all of lockdown reading every book in your house – take note as if you have any of these titles you might be sitting on a small fortune.
Experts have shared their top 10 books which could be worth thousands – including Harry Potter.
The collection ranges from a Jane Austen work from 1813 all the way up to J. K Rowling’s infamous first offering, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in 1997.
So you might have an antique gathering dust in a box of hand-me-downs in the attic, or you might need to raid your kids’ bedrooms to check they’re not thumbing through an expensive Potter classic.
OnBuy said: “When we finish reading a book, many of us put it down and never take notice of the finer details.
“But now might be the perfect time for you to take a closer look through your bookshelves as book fanatics and collectors are spending thousands on rare book editions.”
Top 10 books worth a small fortune
- The Hobbit £11,995
- Lord of the Rings Trilogy £7,500
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone £6,800
- Animal Farm £3,576
- Lord of the Flies £2,503
- Pride and Prejudice £2,145
- The Great Gatsby £2,083
- Casino Royale £1,597
- A Christmas Carol £1,420
- Tarzan of the Apes £1,072
The priciest book on the list is a copy of The Hobbit, first published in 1937, by J. R. R. Tolkein.
The experts at OnBuy estimate this classic could net the owner as much as £11.995, with the copies worth the most mint-condition first editions.
Next on the list is another offering from Tolkein, his trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, first published in 1954.
The works were later turned into box office smash hits, but if you have the original books, you could earn yourself £7,500.
The third most valuable book is the first time we meet the now-infamous Harry Potter in the Philosopher’s Stone, with editions worth around £6,800.
OnBuy noted: “As hard as it is to believe, only 500 copies were published during the books’ initial release. Interest in the Harry Potter franchise shows no signs of slowing down with 394,000 global monthly searches, suggesting Rowling’s work will continue to sell well into the future.”
Next is one of George Orwell’s masterpieces, Animal Farm, first published in 1945, which could net you £3,576, while rare copies could fetch £7,000 at auction.
Nobel-prize winning author William Golding’s literary offering The Lord of the Flies, first published in 1954 and later turned into a film, could be worth £2,503.
In sixth place is Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, now also a film, which could see you bank £2,145 – while the most expensive copy sold at auction fetched £139,250.
Leonardo DiCaprio reignited a 1920s fever when he starred in the 2013 remake of The Great Gatsby, and a copy of the 1925 read is now worth £2,083.
The list wouldn’t be complete with a James Bond novel, and the first time we meet the spy with a licence to kill is in Casino Royale, published in 1954, which is worth £1,597 today.
Time to get out the box of Christmas decorations again, as if you have a copy of Charles Dickens’ famous title, A Crhistmas Carol, then the festive season is sorted as you could make £1,420.
And last on the list is a title people associate with Disney, but Tarzan of the Apes was a book first, written by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912.
If you have the book, rather than the film, you could bank a tidy £1,072.
Explaining their findings, OnBuy said: “To narrow down the books, the team investigated hundreds of books and their resale values, enabling them to determine a top 20.
“Using this list, OnBuy took to eBay to find out the most expensive book sold.”
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