A 70-year-old first edition Oor Wullie annual, purchased for just 20p in a garage sale, has fetched nearly £1000 at auction.
Eddie McVey, from Biggar, was unaware he had the valuable book when buying a box full of model trains and magazines for £5 in his hometown around four months ago.
Experts at Bonhams auction house in Edinburgh told him he had one of the first ever Oor Wullie annuals one of a handful to be found in recent years.
Despite its tattered condition the annual proved a hit at Bonhams Scottish Sale of Art and Memorabilia on Friday, passing the reserve price set.
Mr McVey said, “Bonhams told me it was very rare and that only about five or six had ever been found.
“Because of its condition Bonhams told me to only expect £400 to £600, but at the end of the day it only cost me around 20p so I’m happy with what I got.”
A Bonhams spokesperson said, “It is great to see something found just by chance making such a lot of money and it always makes an auction that bit more exciting.
“To buy an item for 20p and sell it on for £1000 is a fantastic return and goes to show there can be real value found in the unlikeliest of places.”
Mr McVey attended the garage sale with his five-year-old grandson Ayden and bought a number of other antiques, which he sold on for a small profit.
The £5 box of model trains and magazines made him £45 and the bargain hunter pocketed an additional £40 for a few gold rings picked up for £1.
The Bonhams Scottish sale made over £1,800,000 this year the second highest in its 11-year history.
Other highlights included George Leslie Hunter’s Still Life which sold for £144,000 and Anne Redpath’s Still Life with Michaelmas Daisies, which made £134,000 against a presale estimate of £30,000 to £50,000.
Christmas gifts from Queen Victoria to her servant John Brown sold for well over their estimates, while a silver mounted claret jug went for £14,300 and an engraved teapot for £9000.