A Beano first edition which was kept under a sofa for 40 years has been put up for sale.
It is one of nine known to be left from the first batch of the popular comic which was printed in 1938.
The owner, who is in his seventies but does not want to be identified, was given the comic by his mother when he was a child.
He has kept it in his Lincoln home ever since and, for the past four decades, hidden it in a plastic folder under his sofa.
The comic comes without its free gift
Malcolm Phillips, from Comic Book Postal Auctions, said there was strong interest in the comic which could fetch more than £3,000.
"Given the way it has been kept and moving it about, it is in remarkable condition.
"Every time he had a clean up he would take it out of the plastic bag and put it in a new one and put it back again."
Whoopee mask
The Beano has been one of the most popular comics in Britain with its favourite character Dennis the Menace, who does not feature in the first edition.
Characters which are featured include Eggo, an ostrich, Lord Snooty and Morgyn the Mighty, a strongman.
Mr Phillips said many of the comics would have been pulped during World War II to help the war effort.
The last time Mr Phillips' firm auctioned a first issue Beano, in 1999, it fetched a world record price of £6,820, which still stands.
That comic was accompanied by its even rarer free gift, a whoopee mask, which does not come with this latest comic for sale.
