This record has puzzled many collectors. It is said that only 170 copies were made of this first pressing and that only 78 copies sold out of these 170, making this very first pressing of Love Me Do extremely rare. But in light of all the recorded sales, it seems most unlikely that only 78 copies of the "no dash and number" version exist today. The numbers are not wrong and are from EMI sales figures. So why do we keep stumbling upon so many copies? (I personally owned 4 at one point). Well, simply said, a stamper can produce many more than 170 copies before being worn out, so the logic points towards the possibility that once Beatlemania kicked off in 1964, Capitol reused the original stamper to produce more copies until the stamper was worn out. This would explain indeed why copies are found on a regular basis. But it also means that identifying true original 1963 pressings can be quite difficult as the only way to differentiate pressings is the hue of the swirl label (earlier labels are supposed to be slightly more brownish).
Either way, this record has fascinated collectors for years and it is now gaining more and more attention while sales for NM copies get higher and higher as American collectors are slowly discovering the interest of early Canadian pressings. Sales numbers featured below are all true numbers, but keep in mind that the credibility of a seller can dramatically increase the frenzy around an item. For example, at least 2 of these copies were sold by well known Price Guide author Perry Cox. Having clearly made a name for himself by being the reference for Beatles price guides, his items always sell for a premium. So although these sales are real, statistically speaking, these entries are extreme and reflect only a small portion of the recorded sales. Some collectors amusingly call it "the Perry Cox effect".
Serial Number | Price | Date | Condition |
---|---|---|---|
72076 | 617.33$ USD | September 28, 2010 | NM |
This is the version with no dash and number, and was sold by Perry Cox. | |||
72076 | 165$ USD | November 24, 2010 | VG+ |
This is the version with no dash and number | |||
72076 | 999$ USD | January 14, 2011 | NM |
This is the no dash and number version, sold by Perry Cox | |||
72076 | 2$ USD | March 2011 | G- |
Totally trashed | |||
72076 | 2500$ USD | May 15, 2011 | MT |
This is the no dash and number version, sold by Fab4collectibles.com | |||
72076 | 25$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 15$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 50$ USD | VG++ | ? |
72076 | 50$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 200$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 150$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 100$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 255$ USD | ? | ? |
72076 | 14.50$ USD | ? | VG |
72076 | 15.50$ USD | ? | G |
Bad condition | |||
72076 | 45$ USD | ? | G |
Bad condition | |||
72076 | ?$ USD | August 9, 2011 | VG+ |
It is not clear for how much this record was sold (or even IF it was sold) as it was up for auction at a starting price of 50$, with a buy it now price of 1000$. The listing was ended by the seller because "the item was not available anymore". This could mean a lot of things; maybe it was simply dammaged or lost, but most likely, the seller had an offer that suited him and accepted to sell it outside of the auction. So it could have sold for anything in between 50$ and 1000$ USD, but a safe guess would be around 500 USD. | |||
72076 | n/a | August 22, 2011 | VG++ |
This record had 3 bids by 4 bidders and climbed up to 260.77$ USDm but has not sold as the resrve price wasn't met. There was a buy it now price of 995$ USD | |||
This makes an average of 325$ USD for this record.