By Irene Storm | 18th May 2018
The most popular The Beatles record is not necessarily the most valuable one. In fact, there are so many The Beatles vinyl records around that it would not cost you much to start a collection yourself. But if you happen to own a certain limited edition or a unique Beatles album you could have yourself a small fortune. So which albums are the most valuable?
3. Yesterday and Today (1966) - € 105,246
The first release of the 1966 album Yesterday and Today was decorated with a highly controversial cover picturing the four Beatles members in white butcher coats surrounded by slices of meat and cigarette-burned doll parts. The ‘butcher’ cover album was recalled and is now extremely sought-after by collectors. Do you happen to own a mint condition copy of a first state pressing? Consider yourself very lucky, because unsealed ones generally sell for around €12,500. A sealed copy of the butcher cover album first pressing in mint condition however, sold for even more in 2016: €105,246.
2. Love Me Do - € 94,321
The reason this copy of Love Me Do single sold for such a great amount of money is that there is only one known pressing of the one-sided acetate, unedited version with count-in. Although 'Love Me Do' was composed by both Paul McCartney and John Lennon, Lennon gave most of the credit to McCartney who wrote the main structure of the song when he was just a teenager. Both Ringo Starr and McCartney recall the success of 'Love Me Do' as the real starting point of their career; it was then they realised The Beatles were going to be big.
1. The Beatles (White Album) - € 579,683
Not just the most expensive The Beatles album ever sold, but also the highest price ever paid for a commercially released album goes to The Beatles - also know as 'The White Album'. Members of the Beatles and executives from their studio were given a special edition of 'The White Album', stamped with serial numbers. The Beatles No. 0000001 from 1968 was previously owned by Ringo Starr himself, and sold for €579,683 at auction in 2015. It was kept in a vault in mint condition for 35 years. The first four pressings of The Beatles’ self-titled album were owned by the four band members, and No. 0000005 sold for €25,256 at auction in 2008. All numbered copies are worth a small fortune today!
This has been the top 3 most expensive The Beatles vinyl records, but there are more Beatles albums that will achieve impressive results at auction. Signed copies always do well. A fully signed copy of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band vinyl record sold for €223,753 in 2013. And the black and gold labelled Parlophone stereo version of Please Please Me generally sells for at least €1,000, although one copy sold for an astonishing €26,405 in 2009. Of course The Beatles albums are very much worth listening to, but every now and then it pays off to keep a vinyl record sealed and in mint condition.
____________________
Visit our weekly The Beatles Records & Vinyl auction for more great music and join in the fun. With just one free account you can bid, buy and sell your Beatles albums and other special objects at auction.
Discover The Beatles | vinyl records
You might also like these articles: