Million Dollar Babies
In the vinyl world, nothing beats the satisfaction you feel when you get your hands on a sought-after gem... except, maybe, when you can resell it for millions
Whether you are a seasoned vinyl collector or making your first steps, it’s always fun to take a glimpse into the exclusive world of top-tier vinyl auctions. Here’s an overview of some of the highest value transactions ever recorded.
Bob Dylan - Blowin’ in the Wind
USD 1.8M
Reportedly the most expensive record ever sold (unless you are thinking of Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin CD, which sold for $2M, and then for $4M once confiscated by the US government—you can read all about it here).
Dylan’s newly recorded version of the folk classic sold for GBP 1.4M (roughly USD 1.8M) at British auction house Christie’s in July 2022.
Pressed into an innovative 10-inch acetate disc with, reportedly, higher fidelity and immune to normal wear and tear, it plays on a normal record player, in case you are interested and have, you know, $2M to spare.
The Beatles - The Beatles (the “White Album”)
USD 790k
Ringo Starr’s personal copy (No. 0000001) went for $790k at Julien's Auctions in December 2015. Apparently, Ringo had kept the record in perfect condition, locked in a vault, for decades.
The album was sold alongside other items of his personal collection, with proceeds going to his social welfare charity, the Lotus Foundation.
Elvis Presley - My Happiness
USD 300k
This was Elvis’s first recording, in 1953, before he had a record deal. Apparently, he paid for the studio session out of his own pocket, with the sole purpose of getting the attention of Sun Studios owner Sam Phillips. The acetate record cost him $4. The excuse? A gift for his mother’s birthday. Talk about smart moves!
In January 2015, Jack White of the White Stripes bought it for USD 300k, and then re-released it via his label, Third Man Records, for Record Store Day.
The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (fully signed)
USD 300k
An original 1967 mono version autographed by all members of the Fab Four was auctioned for almost $300k ($290,500, to be precise) in 2013. The auctioneers had estimated a sale in the region of $30k and were speechless when the record ended up selling for nearly 10 times the original amount.
John Lennon & Yoko Ono - Double Fantasy (autographed by Lennon)
USD 150k — potentially USD 2M
While copies in decent shape of early pressings of this album are available at reasonable prices, there is a somewhat grim story behind this particular copy, which sold for $150k in 1999.
It was signed by John Lennon reportedly 5 hours before his tragic death. As if this wasn’t macabre enough, guess who handed it to him for signature… that’s right: none other than Mark Chapman, his murderer.
A rather obscure chain of transactions followed, and it’s rumoured to have been resold in 2003 for $500k.
Apparently it is still on auction here with its reported price tag nearing $2M. The speculation is that, once sold, it will take the top spot as the most expensive vinyl record ever sold.
If money wasn’t an issue, but you could only get your hands on only one of these records, which one would you pick and why? Let me know in the comments!
Thanks for reading/listening. Happy spinning!
I'd buy Double Fantasy and burn it. Something like that has no place in the world.
Oh wow, I'm looking with significantly increased fascination at my own copy of The White Album now. I bought it just to play it, and would've every bit as happy with a good repress as with copy 578200, but the realization that it's in sequence with The Beatles' own private copies does have an appeal to it.