Album value guide
Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon,
first-press value.
Dark Side of the Moon has been pressed more or less continuously since March 1973. The album has shifted more than 45 million copies worldwide and reached RIAA 14× Platinum in the US alone — so there is a copy in almost every 1970s-era collection. What separates a $20 album from a $400 one is whether it's the 1973 UK Harvest first-press with the solid blue triangle, both posters, and both stickers intact. Most surviving copies are not.
01
What a 1973 first-press is worth
The original UK Harvest pressing (SHVL 804) is the reference copy and the most valuable in clean condition. The US Harvest/Capitol pressing (SMAS-11163) and German/Japanese first-pressings follow at slightly lower ranges.
| Pressing | Condition | Recent sold |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 UK Harvest (SHVL 804), complete with inserts | NM | $300–600 |
| 1973 UK Harvest, no inserts | VG+ to NM | $80–200 |
| 1973 US Harvest/Capitol (SMAS-11163) | NM | $50–150 |
| Original quadraphonic mix (Q4SHVL 804 UK, SMAS-11163 US) | VG+ to NM | $200–800+ |
| Sealed original UK first-press | M | $1,200–3,000+ |
| 1980s+ reissues (any catalog) | VG+ to NM | $15–40 |
Sources: Discogs sold listings (90-day window), Popsike.com auction archive, RIAA certification records. Sealed-copy prices reflect authenticated examples; unauthenticated sealed copies trade lower.
02
How to tell a 1973 UK first-press
Five checks. The first two narrow you to a UK first-press; the last three confirm it.
Catalog number SHVL 804. The 1973 UK Harvest first-press is SHVL 804. Later UK reissues used SHVL 804 (with different matrix runouts), then SHVL 804 in the EMI-distribution era, then a long series of CD-era reissue catalog numbers entirely. The US first-press is SMAS-11163 on Harvest/Capitol.
Label design. The 1973 UK label is the original Harvest label with the “Harvest” logo and a black-and-rainbow center. The 1973 US label is the same Harvest design adapted for Capitol distribution. Both shifted significantly by the 1980s.
Matrix runout — the solid blue triangle. The most-asked-about identifier. First-press UK copies have the matrix codes A//1, A//2, A//3 and B//1, B//2, B//3 etched in the dead wax. Cuts 1 and 2 are the earliest. The “solid blue triangle” on the back cover (under the prism, where the spectrum regroups) is most consistent on the earliest 1973 pressings before the cover artwork shifted.
Inserts. The 1973 UK first-press shipped with two posters (a band-collage poster and a pyramid-graphic poster) and two stickers (pyramid stickers). Complete-insert copies bring the top of the range; missing inserts cut the value sharply.
The inner sleeve. Original 1973 UK copies came with a thicker inner sleeve that had the lyric text on one side and the album credits on the other. The lyric layout and printing details are distinct from later reissue inner sleeves.
03
What pushes a first-press to the top
All four inserts intact. The two posters plus both stickers are present in maybe one in five surviving 1973 UK copies. Complete-insert copies routinely trade at two to three times the bare-album price.
Sleeve grade. The black-background cover shows scratches and ringwear easily — most surviving copies are VG+ rather than NM. Clean copies with the gatefold intact and no ringwear are scarce and command a premium.
Cut number 1 or 2 matrix. The earliest cuts (A//1, A//2) are pressed from the cleanest stampers and generally sound better. Audiophile collectors pay up for the early-cut copies.
Original quadraphonic mix. A small run of Dark Side was pressed in the four-channel quadraphonic format in 1973–74. The quad mix is a completely different mix and is collected separately. NM copies of the quad pressing are uncommon and valuable.
04
If you think you have one
Pull the record. Check the catalog number on the label (SHVL 804 for the UK first-press, SMAS-11163 for the US first-press), then the matrix runout in the dead wax. If both match, look at the cover for the solid-blue-triangle artwork detail and verify the inserts. That sequence will tell you whether you have a 1973 original or a later reissue.
Or scan it with Crown Vinyl. The app reads the catalog number and matrix from a single photograph and returns the exact pressing — including the quadraphonic mix variant if relevant. Free on the App Store.
A few questions
The ones that come up.
Check the catalog number first: SHVL 804 indicates the 1973 UK Harvest first-press, SMAS-11163 indicates the 1973 US Harvest/Capitol first-press. Then confirm with the matrix runout etched in the dead wax — cuts marked A//1 or A//2 are the earliest UK first-press cuts. Original inserts (two posters, two stickers) confirm the cover hasn't been reissue-swapped.
The 1973 UK Harvest first-press (SHVL 804) is the reference copy and brings the highest prices in clean condition with all inserts. The 1973 US Harvest/Capitol pressing (SMAS-11163) is also a first-press but trades at roughly half the UK price for equivalent condition. Both are valuable; the UK is the collector's preference.
A four-channel mix issued on a small run of LPs in 1973–74, intended for quadraphonic playback systems that briefly competed with stereo. The quad mix is a distinct mix from the stereo version. Surviving NM copies are uncommon and valuable to collectors of the album in all its variants.
Yes, when authenticated. Sealed original UK first-presses reach $1,200–3,000+ at auction. The challenge is verifying the seal — sealed copies are sometimes resealed after grading. Authenticated sealed copies trade at a clear premium; unauthenticated sealed copies trade closer to NM-opened prices.
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