A rare collectable edition of the Beano annual has been uncovered by an eagle-eyed volunteer at a Cancer Research UK shop in St Andrews.
Matthew Harris (24) was sifting through a bag of donations when he spotted something that caught his eye a copy of the first-ever Beano annual from 1939.
Next month the book will go up for auction, where it could make thousands of pounds for cancer research.
Matthew said, “It’s in great condition, so I knew it might be worth more than the average comic book, but when I checked it out online and learned it could be worth more than £2000 I could hardly believe it.
“I immediately called the publishers in Dundee, D. C. Thomson, to check.”
He added, “They confirmed that we’ve received a really special and generous donation.”
The book includes characters such as Lord Snooty and Chums but is notably without young hellraiser Dennis the Menace, who did not appear until 1951.
Today the book is sought after by collectors, who have paid over £2000 for this edition in the past.
Cancer Research branch manager Tammy Kernohan said, “We get lots of generous donations here, but this might turn out to be the most valuable we’ve ever received.
“We’re so grateful to whoever gave us the book.”
She added, “Now we are all hoping it makes a lot of money at auction as all the cash it raises will go straight to funding more research into cancer.”
Taking charge of the gavel next month will be Comic Book Auctions, who hold regular online comic book auctions.
Malcolm Phillips said, “It’s in great condition and extremely rare. It’s the star attraction of our June auction and should attract lots of bids from around the world.”
He added, “I hope it’ll make a great price and raise lots of funds for the fight against cancer.”
The book will be the first lot in Comic Book Auctions’ June catalogue.
To find out more or to make a bid visit www.compalcomics.com