Are Old Vinyl Records Worth Anything? Vinyl Record Value

Most old vinyl records are worth roughly $1-5 each. The easy listening, Broadway, Christmas and big band albums that fill inherited collections were pressed in the millions and are still easy to find. The records that bring real money are specific pressings: original first pressings of important albums, early mono copies, original Blue Note jazz, scarce soul, punk and hip hop singles, and certain promotional copies. A cover photo almost never tells you which one you have. The label and the runout groove, the smooth band of vinyl between the last track and the label, do.

That is the good news and the bad news. A famous album is not valuable just for being famous, since the hits were pressed again and again. But an ordinary-looking copy can turn out to be an early pressing worth hundreds, and the clues are there to read.

Why most records are $1-5

Record buying peaked in the 1960s and 1970s, and the best-selling albums of that era were manufactured in enormous quantities. Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream and Other Delights, The Sound of Music soundtrack, Mitch Miller sing-alongs, Ray Conniff, Andy Williams, Barbra Streisand and countless classical box sets turn up in nearly every estate. Dealers see more of them than they can sell, and many will only take them in bulk at a few cents each.

Damage makes it worse. Records stored in damp basements, stacked without sleeves, or played on worn needles lose most of their value, even when the title is desirable.

What is worth money

First pressings

A first pressing is a copy from the first production run. For many classic rock, jazz and pop albums, the first pressing sells for many times later copies of the same album. The differences are small and specific: the label design, the address on the label, the catalog number, and the matrix numbers in the runout.

Specific labels and label designs

Record labels redesigned their labels over the years, which makes the label a dating tool.

• Columbia: the "six eye" label (three small eye logos on each side of the spindle hole) from about 1955 to 1962, then the "two eye" label, then the "360 Sound" labels.
• Capitol: the rainbow-colored ring around the label edge from 1958 to about 1962, then later designs.
• Blue Note: original pressings show the "47 West 63rd" or "New York USA" address, a deep groove (a circular indentation pressed into the label), "RVG" stamped in the runout for Rudy Van Gelder, and a small "ear" symbol (a stylized P) from the Plastylite pressing plant. Later Liberty and United Artists pressings lack some of these.

The Beatles

Original Beatles records attract the most attention, and most copies are common. What matters:

• UK first pressings on Parlophone with the black and gold label, especially Please Please Me, are worth hundreds, and the stereo black and gold Please Please Me reaches the thousands.
• Mono pressings, with the PMC catalog prefix in the UK (PCS is stereo), are often worth more than stereo for 1960s titles.
• The US "Yesterday and Today" album with the butcher cover from 1966 is worth hundreds to thousands, depending on whether it is a first state cover, a paste-over (with the replacement trunk photo glued on top) or a peeled copy.
• US Capitol Beatles albums from the 1970s and 1980s, and all later reissues, are usually modest.

Mono pressings

Through the mid-1960s many albums were issued in both mono and stereo. Catalog prefixes tell them apart: Parlophone PMC and PCS, Capitol T and ST, Columbia CL and CS. For pop and rock from this period, mono copies were mixed with more care and are often the more valuable version.

Punk, soul and hip hop rarities

• Punk: the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" on A&M from 1977 is the famous example. The label dropped the band days after pressing it and most copies were destroyed. Surviving copies sell for thousands to five figures. Early punk singles on small independent labels can be worth hundreds.
• Northern soul and 1960s soul 45s: obscure singles on small labels are collected intensely, and the rarest have sold for tens of thousands. Most soul 45s are $2-15.
• Hip hop: early 1980s 12 inch singles on small New York labels, private pressings and early independent releases can be worth hundreds.
• Private press records, made in small numbers by local bands, churches and singers, sometimes become sought after for psych, folk, funk or jazz.

Promotional copies

Promo copies were sent to radio stations and reviewers. They are marked with white labels, "Promotional copy not for sale" stamps, "DJ copy" or a drilled hole or stamped cover. For rare or important records, a promo can be the most desirable version. For common records, a promo stamp adds little.

How to read the label and runout

The label

Note the label name and design, the catalog number, the address printed on the label, and the rim text. Compare these to known first pressing details for that album on Discogs, which lists hundreds of thousands of individual pressings with photos.

The runout groove

Tilt the record under a light and read the letters and numbers etched or stamped in the runout area on each side. These are the matrix numbers, and they identify the exact lacquer and stamper used.

• Matrix suffixes such as "-1", "1A" or "A1" usually indicate an early stamper. UK Parlophone matrices with suffixes like "-1N" are the classic example.
• Mastering engineer marks can matter. "RL" (Robert Ludwig) on early US copies of Led Zeppelin II marks the much-wanted "hot mix" pressing. "STERLING" and "Porky Prime Cut" also show up.
• Pressing plant codes or symbols identify where the record was made.

Searching the full matrix text on Discogs usually narrows a copy to one specific pressing, along with its sold price history.

Condition and Goldmine grading

Records are graded on the Goldmine scale, separately for the vinyl and the jacket:

• Mint (M): perfect, often unplayed. Rarely used.
• Near Mint (NM): looks and plays like new.
• Very Good Plus (VG+): light scuffs or wear that do not affect play much.
• Very Good (VG): noticeable surface noise and wear, still playable.
• Good (G or G+): heavy wear, plays through with noise.
• Poor: cracked, warped, or barely playable.

Value falls fast below Near Mint. A VG+ copy often sells for about half of NM, a VG copy for about a quarter, and a Good copy for a small fraction. Scratches that cross the grooves, warps and writing on the label all count.

The sleeve matters

For many records, the jacket is half the value.

• Jacket problems: ring wear (a circular worn pattern from the record inside), seam splits, writing, stickers, water damage, and cut-outs (a hole punched or corner clipped to mark a remainder).
• Inserts and extras: original inner sleeves, posters, stickers, lyric sheets and order forms. The Dark Side of the Moon originally came with two posters and two stickers, for example.
• Japanese pressings with their obi (a paper band wrapped around the cover) are worth far more with the obi intact.

Reissues

Reissues look like originals from the front and often keep the original catalog number. Signs of a reissue:

• A barcode on the jacket. Originals from before about 1976 have none.
• Text such as "Digitally Remastered", "180 gram", "Made in EU", or a modern copyright line.
• A later label design on an early catalog number.
• Shrink stickers or Record Store Day markings.

Reissues are perfectly good records to play and usually sell for $10-40. Comics have the same problem with reprints, covered in the old comic books guide.

Value table

What to photograph

• Both labels, straight on and sharp.
• The runout groove on each side, tilted in raking light so the matrix numbers are readable.
• The front and back of the jacket, including any barcode.
• Any inserts, posters, inner sleeves or obi.
• The vinyl surface under a light, to show scratches or scuffs.

For a valuable pressing or a large collection, the professional route is a specialist record dealer or a music auction house, and checking the Discogs sold history for the exact matrix.