Album value
Van Halen — Fair Warning.
First-press value.
Van Halen's fourth album came out April 29, 1981, produced again by Ted Templeman, with a cover built from details of The Maze, a painting by the Canadian artist William Kurelek. It reached No. 5 and went double platinum, so originals are easy to find. On Discogs, US 1981 pressings sell for about $12 to $26 depending on which plant pressed them.
01
The first-press, by the numbers
Released 1981. The US first-press shipped on the Warner Bros. label.
- US stereo catalog: HS 3540
- UK first-press: Warner Bros. (UK) K 56899
- RIAA certification: 2× Platinum (US)
The center label is only the first clue. See the full Warner Bros. Burbank palm-tree identification guide.
Compare this copy with the artist's other collectible originals. See the Van Halen vinyl value profile.
02
How to confirm a first-press
Three things separate an original from a later reissue beyond the catalog number.
- 1981 copies are on Warner's cream label with faint horizontal lines and the WB shield; the 'ghost' label with tiled WB watermarks belongs to a 1983 reissue under the same HS 3540
- Plant marks in the runouts: a stamped 0 with JW etched for Jacksonville, WW with an etched ◁ for Winchester, a stamped star for Los Angeles, a stamped SLM and Allied 'a' for Allied, SP etched with EAST embossed on the label for Specialty
- The Los Angeles pressing has the highest Discogs median, about $26; Discogs notes that some LA copies are on translucent black vinyl
- All 1981 copies came with a printed inner sleeve, and some covers are gold-stamped as promotional copies; Columbia House and RCA Music Service club editions use the same HS 3540 number
The matrix runout etched in the dead wax is the definitive identifier when label and catalog number both look era-correct.
03
What it's worth
Recent sold-listing ranges. Pressing, condition, and current market all move the number.
| Pressing & condition | Recent sold |
|---|---|
| 1981 first-press (NM) | $20–$45 |
| 1981 first-press (VG+) | $8–$18 |
| Reissue (any later catalog), NM | $12–$25 |
What pushes to the top: A clean Los Angeles (star in the runout) pressing with its printed inner sleeve.
Sources: Discogs sold listings (90-day window), Popsike.com auction archive, Goldmine Record Album Price Guide.
04
If you have one
Pull the record. Check the label first against the Warner Bros. design. Confirm the catalog number on the label matches HS 3540. Then check the matrix runout in the dead wax. All three lining up is the first-press confirmation.
Or scan with Crown Vinyl. The app reads the label, catalog number, and matrix runout from a single photograph, returns the exact pressing, and pulls a current value from recent real sales. Free on the App Store.
Keep checking the shelf
More first pressings worth knowing.
Nearby years, matching labels, and more records by the same artist.
1984 · Warner Bros.
Van Halen — 1984
1984 first press: $10–$20 in VG+ condition.
Check this pressing
1978 · Warner Bros. Burbank palm-tree
Van Halen — Van Halen
1978 first press: $10–$20 in VG+ condition.
Check this pressing
1982 · Epic
Michael Jackson — Thriller
1982 first press: $10–$25 in VG+ condition.
Check this pressingA few questions
The ones that come up.
Check the label design (Warner Bros.), the catalog number (HS 3540), and the matrix runout etched in the dead wax. All three need to line up for a confirmed first-press. 1981 copies are on Warner's cream label with faint horizontal lines and the WB shield; the 'ghost' label with tiled WB watermarks belongs to a 1983 reissue under the same HS 3540.
A clean Los Angeles (star in the runout) pressing with its printed inner sleeve brings the top of the NM range, typically $20–$45.
Hardly. The 1983 ghost-label reissue sells for about $14 on Discogs, and the 2015 remaster (RR1 3540) and the 2022 Walmart edition (R1 670895) for about $18, the same as most 1981 copies. The exception is Mobile Fidelity's 2025 UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S 2-035), which sells for about $125.
Fair Warning was issued in stereo only as a first-press. The HS 3540 pressing is the reference.
Free to startNo adsPrivate by defaultCloud syncBuilt for iOS