But if I’d tried to sell the records instead what might I have gained financially. Well, nothing I suppose as for a start its condition needs to be Mint or Near Mint. But there are apparently several other factors that determine a record’s value.
Rarity: Limited pressings, promos, and early releases are gold.
Pressing Details: Matrix numbers, unique labels (like the black/gold Beatles). First pressings are made from the initial batch of lacquers (or master discs) and cut from the original master recordings. Therefore, first pressings are significantly more valuable than subsequent pressings
The Label: Look for specific colours or text (e.g., Beatles black/gold).
Check the Matrix/Runout: The etched numbers/letters in the dead wax (runout groove).
Look for Inserts: Posters, lyric sheets, or unique artwork.
Age: Records from popular eras are usually more in-demand than others. You can identify your record’s age by reading the liner notes—the text printed on the sleeve.
Uniqueness: There are several factors that make a vinyl record unique, including autographs, test pressings and more.
Sealed: A sealed vinyl record is still in its original shrink wrap. These records are almost always in mint condition and have never been played.
Promo Copies: If you find a promo copy, there’s a chance you’ll see a slight increase in value.
Coloured Vinyl: Record companies began releasing coloured vinyl records to grab the attention of radio DJs in the ‘60s. Coloured pressings, like the translucent blue copy of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, are very valuable.
Vinyl records from the ‘50s and ‘60s are very collectible. These records are from the ‘golden era’ of the vinyl record timeline.
Pressing Details: Matrix numbers, unique labels (like the black/gold Beatles). First pressings are made from the initial batch of lacquers (or master discs) and cut from the original master recordings. Therefore, first pressings are significantly more valuable than subsequent pressings
The Label: Look for specific colours or text (e.g., Beatles black/gold).
Check the Matrix/Runout: The etched numbers/letters in the dead wax (runout groove).
Look for Inserts: Posters, lyric sheets, or unique artwork.
Age: Records from popular eras are usually more in-demand than others. You can identify your record’s age by reading the liner notes—the text printed on the sleeve.
Uniqueness: There are several factors that make a vinyl record unique, including autographs, test pressings and more.
Sealed: A sealed vinyl record is still in its original shrink wrap. These records are almost always in mint condition and have never been played.
Promo Copies: If you find a promo copy, there’s a chance you’ll see a slight increase in value.
Coloured Vinyl: Record companies began releasing coloured vinyl records to grab the attention of radio DJs in the ‘60s. Coloured pressings, like the translucent blue copy of Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here, are very valuable.
Vinyl records from the ‘50s and ‘60s are very collectible. These records are from the ‘golden era’ of the vinyl record timeline.
So what sort of records are we talking about? Here's a few examples of what to look for in the UK in 2026:
The Beatles: Please Please Me (early mono with black/gold label), White Album (numbered first pressings).
Sex Pistols: God Save The Queen (A&M 7" single with picture sleeve).
Led Zeppelin: Early albums like Led Zeppelin (first pressings).
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (original UK pressings with extras).
The Who: The Who Sell Out (early stereo/mono)
And how about prices in 2026?
The Beatles: Please Please Me (early mono with black/gold label), White Album (numbered first pressings).
Sex Pistols: God Save The Queen (A&M 7" single with picture sleeve).
Led Zeppelin: Early albums like Led Zeppelin (first pressings).
Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon (original UK pressings with extras).
The Who: The Who Sell Out (early stereo/mono)
And how about prices in 2026?
BOB DYLAN Freewheelin' Outtakes (2017 UK/EU limited edition 17-track LP pressed on 180-gram HQ Virgin Vinyl. A collection of rare studio recordings from Bob Dylan's 1962 sessions for his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Gatefold picture sleeve with hype sticker, factory sealed). £19.99
PINK FLOYD Wish You Were Here (50th Anniversary) - 3-LP Edition + Rarities 1 & 2 - Sealed UK 3-LP vinyl set. £69.99
FRANK SINATRA Trilogy : Past, Present & Future (Rare 1980 Japanese 26-track sample vinyl triple LP. £167.
ROLLING STONES Aftermath - 3rd - EX (Rare 1966 UK third label variant 14-track Mono LP on the red Decca label with 'ffrr' logo and the band members names printed below the title in small bold capitals, front laminated picture sleeve LK4786. £328
SEX PISTOLS Anarchy In The U.K (4.01 longer version)/No Fun
(EMI 401, 7”, Abbey Road 2-sided acetate, only 3 known to exist, 1976). It should have the blue and gold ‘psychedelic swirl’ Abbey Road logo on the factory labels. Artist and titles are handwritten. £7,000
THE BEATLES The Beatles (aka The White Album)
(Apple PMC/ PCS 7067/8, 2LP, first pressing, mono or stereo, numbered below 0000010, gatefold w/die-cut black inners, poster, four colour prints, 1968). A mono copy of 0000005 sold for over £19,000 in 2008. The ‘White Album’ seems to have become the most sought after LP for Fab collectors, so a mint copy of one of these early numbers, complete with the all-important white paper photo spacer, would easily top this figure. £25,000?
And then there is this:
QUARRY MEN That’ll Be The Day/In Spite Of All The Danger. The Quarry Men’s 1958 recording was lathe-cut directly to vinyl acetate by Percy Phillips at his home studio in Kensington, Liverpool for the princely sum of just under 18 shillings (90p) plus the cost of the record itself. It featured a very raw sounding version of the Buddy Holly classic with John Lennon on lead vocals and the McCartney/Harrison composition In Spite of All The Danger – a mid-tempo country-tinged rocker – that evokes early Sun Studios material. It featured three future Beatles: John Lennon (guitar/lead vocals), Paul McCartney and George Harrison (both on guitar and backing vocals), plus Colin Hanton on drums, with pianist John Duff Lowe. This is inarguably the rarest record in the world and certainly one of the most culturally significant. If Paul McCartney decided to sell his one and only copy. Well, who knows what the price would be?
You can check by using sites like RareVinyl.com and Atlas Records to compare details and values of rare records.
An Apology
I was going
to go on
and on
but my mind
is going round
and round
so I’ve stopped
Thanks for reading, Terry Q.
2 comments:
Love the poem, Terry!
A subject close to my heart, so I was shocked to read that you threw away your record collection. Admittedly I sold hundreds of my LPs when the CD age arrived, but I did so before the rush to sell off record collections really got underway, so I got decent prices for many of the albums at specialist shops in London. Some I couldn't bear to part with, for sentimental reasons, and I framed the LP covers and hung them as pictures. I've subsequently bought 50 or so of my favourite albums again, on newly pressed vinyl (no pops or scratches) and have a decent sound system to play them on. Happy days.
Regarding 'That'll Be The Day', the pre-Beatles Quarrymen recorded it in 1958 at a local studio. The session cost them 17/6d and they came away with a single pressing of the song on record. The agreement was that each member of the group would have it for a week each. John Lennon had it a week and passed it on to Paul McCartney, who had it for a week and passed it on to George Harrison, who had it for a week. Then Colin Hanton had it for a week and passed it to Duff Lowe – who kept it for 23 years. Lowe rediscovered it in 1981 at the back of a drawer and sold it to Paul McCartney for a reputed £12.000. Happy days again.
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