Get out that magnifying glass for your Harry Potter copy.
When it came out, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (or Sorcerer’s Stone in the U.S., because apparently American children don’t know what a philosopher is) set things in motion for one of the biggest franchises in the world. 20 years after its release, certain copies of the book are now worth thousands of dollars, according to Uproxx.
And it’s all because of a typo. Check out this photo from the hardcover first edition of Philosopher’s Stone, specifically of page 53:
Did you spot it or at least read the Twitter caption? Yes, “1 wand” appears twice up there in the list of Hogwarts’ required supplies for first-years. According to The Independent, just 500 copies of the first edition of Philosopher’s Stone have the error. One of the copies may make up to £26,000 at auction when it’s sold on November 9. (For American Muggles, that’s about $33,000.)
While the typo’s rarity is certainly its biggest selling point, first editions of books are generally the most collectible anyway. That’s on top of it also being a Harry Potter book. The franchise is back in the spotlight with the recent release of the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
U.S. copies don’t appear to contain the typo. Sorry, Sorcerer’s Stone owners.
American grammar nerds may also quibble with the use of “phials” in the above list, since we tend to use vials over here in the States. That one did survive over to Sorcerer’s Stone, according to a quick look at my well-loved paperback edition.
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Still, you may want to check through those Harry Potter books once more — and keep an eye out for those typos.
Who knows? You might find yourself rolling in the Galleons if you’re lucky enough to spot one in your midnight-release-party copy of Goblet of Fire or Deathly Hallows.