The vintage novel was unearthed by an unsuspecting buyer 27 years ago and is now worth a fortune.

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The scarce copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a “throw-in” with a couple of other books purchased for a total of 40p back in 1997.

The version is such an early example, it even gets the author’s name wrong – stating “J A Rowling” and “Joanne Rowling” instead of J K Rowling.

The “Uncorrected Proof Copy” was one of only 200 printed by Bloomsbury 26 years ago and marked the start of the Harry Potter phenomenon.

It was purchased at a London book store nearly three decades ago and spent years being taken around the world before gathering dust on a bedroom shelf.

The book will now go under the hammer at Bishton Hall, Staffs., via Hansons Auctioneers on February 26 with a guide price of between £12,000-£16,000.

The 52-year-old seller, originally from London but now living in Bologna, Italy, said: “In 1997, when I was 26, I had just got back to the UK and was living in Crystal Palace in London.

“I didn’t have much money but I always liked to treat myself to a browse round second-hand bookshops on Saturday mornings.

“I dropped into one of my usual haunts, one of the second-hand bookshops just off the main road in Crystal Palace, looking for some Agatha Christie’s.

“Piles of books were all jumbled up in baskets on the floor with a maximum price of 40p.

“The Harry Potter book was among the piles – maybe even by accident – as all the rest were Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh etc, as far as I remember.”

The owner said they bought it as a “throw-in” along with two other books and paid just 40p for the lot.

Since then, it’s been to China, Taiwan, the UK and now Italy, being packed and unpacked without being read.

“It ended up stuck behind a shelf in my bedroom until,” the owner continued, “for no good reason again other than the fact my kids were turning into Harry Potter fans, I went looking for it.

“Even the kids haven’t read it – there are four of them aged from 12 to 25. They always unfortunately – or fortunately in this case – preferred the films.

“I was bored one night and scrolling on the internet when a story popped up about the incredible prices achieved for Potter books, so I decided to contact Jim Spencer to see whether my book might be valuable.

“Finding it when I did was just a massive piece of well-timed luck for which I will always be grateful and more than a tad surprised.”

Hansons book expert Jim Spencer has only ever come across one other book like it, which sold at auction last year for £18,750.

Jim said: “This book has a story all of its own. It’s lived all over the world and cost pennies, not even 40p.

“As it was sold with two other books it actually cost about 13p. The previous Uncorrected Proof Copy I discovered went to a school library.

“I am not sure how this one ended up in a London second-hand book shop but you have to remember this was before the first Potter book had even been printed.

“This proof copy is where the Harry Potter phenomenon began. This is the very first appearance in print of the first Potter novel.

“The author’s signing tours, the midnight queues outside bookshops, the movies, the merchandise – it all stems from this.”

The remarkable discovery comes just weeks after another extremely rare Harry Potter book was auctioned for £10,000 after being found mysteriously dumped at a charity’s door.

A generous donor gave away the first edition of the Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone to the shop on the Isle of Wight, where it was expected to fetch a staggering sum due to its numerous printing typos.

And in December, another ultra-rare first edition copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone sold for a whopping £55,000 after being bought for just £10.

The “fantastically well-preserved” edition of fetched the eye-watering price at an another auction hosted by Hansons Auctioneers at Bishton Hall.