The Dark Side of the Moon Vinyl Value Guide: How to Spot a 1973 First Pressing and What It Is Worth

Start with supply. Wikipedia puts worldwide sales at more than 45 million copies by 2013, and the album had spent 996 weeks on the Billboard 200 by January 2026. Discogs lists 672 vinyl versions under the album's master release. About 32,400 Discogs users list the UK first pressing in their collections, and about 52,000 list the most common US 1973 pressing. When that many people own a record, there is always another copy for sale.

So the honest rule of thumb is this: a played 1970s copy, or any later reissue, is worth roughly what a new reissue costs, often less. That is a rule, not a quote. Three things move a copy above it:

• Which pressing it is. The UK first issue with the solid-prism label is the one collectors pay for. A US or European 1973 copy is collectible but far more common.
• Condition. The black sleeve shows ring wear and scuffs badly, and quiet passages expose surface noise. Grade the vinyl and the sleeve separately with our vinyl grading guide.
• Completeness. The UK, US and most European 1973 editions shipped with two posters and two stickers. A copy without them is incomplete, and buyers price it that way.

In the UK the album came out on Harvest on 16 March 1973 as SHVL 804, with EMI's international number 1E 064 o 05249 printed small, in brackets, on the back cover. EMI pressed huge numbers to meet advance orders, and Discogs documents 88 runout variations on the first issue alone. A first issue has all of these:

1. Label: a solid light-blue prism with silver lettering. From the second issue onwards the prism is only an outline, with a blue glowing edge and a black centre.
2. Rim text: "The Gramophone Co. Ltd." starting at about 10 o'clock. On the third issue the rim text changes to "EMI Records Ltd".
3. Runout: SHVL 804 A-2 and SHVL 804 B-2, stamped, followed by stamper letters (next section). Higher matrix numbers such as A-3/B-3 belong to later issues.
4. Inner sleeve: a die-cut black, polythene-lined paper sleeve with the patent numbers 1125555 and 1072844 bottom left and "MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN" bottom right.
5. Sleeve: a gatefold printed by Garrod & Lofthouse, with the code Ⓛ 7303 TPS inside. There are three variations of the front opening (glued shut, sealed with a fold-over flap, or open). Some copies carry a small round "Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon" sticker on the front.
6. Inserts: two A2-sized posters and two postcard-sized stickers, on matte or gloss paper.

Discogs also notes that some early copies made with A2/B2 stampers have a manufacturing defect that makes "Money" skip. That is a known flaw of the pressing, not necessarily damage.

Two transitional issues sit between the first issue and the later EMI ones. The second issue already has the outline prism but keeps "The Gramophone Co." rim text, with A2/B2, A3/B2 or A3/B3 runouts. A short-lived crossover has a first-repress label on side one and a second-repress label on side two. Both are early, but neither is the solid-prism first issue that sales records are made of. Our first pressing identification guide explains the general method.

EMI's UK runouts have two parts. SHVL 804 A-2 is the matrix: catalogue number, side and lacquer cut. On the stereo first issue both sides are -2 lacquers, so a copy reading SHVL 804 A-2 and SHVL 804 B-2 passes the runout test.

The letters after the matrix, such as G, GG, PD or RM, are EMI's stamper code. EMI wrote numbers with the ten letters of GRAMOPHLTD: G=1, R=2, A=3, M=4, O=5, P=6, H=7, L=8, T=9, D=0. A single G means 1, GG means 11 and PD means 60. Low numbers mean early metal parts, which is why sellers advertise copies as "1G" or "G1". The code is a nice detail, but it does not decide whether a copy is a first issue. The label and the A-2/B-2 matrix decide that.

The first-issue runouts documented on Discogs are stamped: the matrix and the stamper letters, with no hand-etched signature. When you buy, ask for a clear photo of the dead wax on both sides. Our guide to runout and matrix numbers covers the codes used by other plants.

The album was released in the US first, on 1 March 1973, as Harvest SMAS-11163, made and distributed by Capitol. It was a Harvest label release. The black Capitol label with the rainbow ring belongs to the 1983 reissue. Look for these points:

• Who cut it: lacquers were cut at Capitol by Wally Traugott (Wly in the runout) or Ken Perry (KP).
• Earliest state: no stamped MASTERED BY CAPITOL in the dead wax. Discogs notes that the stamp indicates late 1973 at the earliest. The label's "MFD. BY CAPITOL" rim text runs from 8 o'clock to 4 o'clock, and there is no "rights reserved" line. Inside the gatefold, first-state sleeves carry the line "INTERPAK™ Pats. Pending".
• Plant mark: Capitol pressed it in several plants at once. A stamped ✲ means Los Angeles, ─◁ means Winchester, and 0 means Jacksonville. A typical early Winchester runout reads SMAS-1-11163-F4 ─◁.
• Inserts: two posters and two stickers. Many shrink-wrapped copies had a black round hype sticker on the wrap.

No US plant is "the" first pressing. They pressed at the same time, so the plant mark tells you where a copy was made, not whether it is early. US copies are far more common than UK first issues, and a clean, complete early US copy is collectible but not rare. For sealed copies, read our sealed vinyl value guide before paying a premium, because reseals exist.

EMI companies pressed the album locally almost everywhere, under their own catalogue numbers. These are the 1973 first issues you are most likely to meet:

• Canada: SMAS-11163, made by Capitol Records (Canada). The back cover says it was manufactured in Canada by Capitol Records EMI of Canada.
• Germany: 1 C 062-05 249 (EMI Electrola), with two posters and two small graphic inserts. Discogs lists several 1973 variants, told apart by symbols next to the catalogue number on the back.
• Netherlands: 5C 062-05249. France: 2C 064-05249. Italy: 3C 064-05249. The Italian runout carries the lacquer-cutting date 23-2-73.
• Japan: EOP-80778 on Odeon/Harvest, the first Japanese issue, with an obi priced ¥2,000, a 32-page booklet, two posters and a postcard. EMS-80324 is a later (1974) Japanese pressing priced ¥2,500, and EMLF-97002 is the 1978 "Pro-Use Series" reissue, sold without posters or stickers.
• Australia: SHVLA.804. Brazil: XHVL-1001.

Quadraphonic editions also appeared in 1973, including the UK Q4SHVL 804 (SQ system) and the Australian Q4 SHVLA.804. They carry a quad mix by Alan Parsons that Wikipedia notes was never endorsed by the band. They are a curiosity worth knowing, and you need SQ decoding to hear them as intended.

As with the US plants, the country matters for identification. For value, condition and completeness usually count for more.

The table picks the editions a reader needs to tell apart from Discogs' 672 vinyl versions: the UK issues in order, the US plant and cutter variants, the main 1973 national editions, the quad and picture discs, and the reissues that matter. It shows the catalogue number and the side A runout.

The reissues worth knowing:

• Picture discs, 1978: the UK SHVLP 804, which Discogs notes was limited to 1,000 copies, and the US Capitol SEAX-11902. Discogs also lists several unofficial picture discs from the 1990s onwards. Treat any picture disc without a clear Harvest or Capitol origin as a bootleg.
• Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-017 (1979), half-speed mastered by Stan Ricker and pressed by JVC in Japan. Its 1981 UHQR edition, MFQR 1-017, came in a numbered box limited to 5,000 copies. See our half-speed mastering guide for what that process changes.
• Capitol SMAS-11163 (1983), the black Capitol label with the rainbow ring and a barcode on the sleeve.
• 30th Anniversary Edition (2003), 180g, cut by Doug Sax and Kevin Gray at AcousTech, with replica posters and stickers plus a new poster.
• 2011 remaster, 180g, mastered at The Mastering Lab.
• Pink Floyd Records PFRLP8 (2016), remastered by James Guthrie, Joel Plante and Bernie Grundman and cut by Grundman. It is the most-owned version on Discogs.
• 50th Anniversary remaster PFR50LP1 (2023), and a 2024 UV-printed clear edition.

These are the sales we could verify on 12 October 2026, each from a source we opened:

The two prices for the March 2026 copy come from different reports of what is likely the same sale. We show both rather than pick one. The seller's "first 300" claim cannot be checked: EMI pressed the first issue in huge numbers, and nothing on a record shows its place in the run.

We found no auction or press record of an unsigned copy selling above $20,000; the highest documented sale is the near-mint first pressing sold on Discogs in March 2026 ($11,842 in What Hi-Fi's list of Discogs sales, 13 April 2026). The pattern is consistent: the money is in exceptional, complete UK first issues. A worn copy, or a copy missing its posters and stickers, is a different and much cheaper record.

The UK and US first issues came with two posters and two stickers, and so did most European editions. The UK posters are A2-sized. The German edition came with the two posters and two small graphic inserts. The first Japanese issue came with two posters, a postcard and a 32-page booklet, and its obi is part of the package.

Collectors check for these items before anything else, because they disappear over the years. The posters were folded and pinned to walls, and the stickers were stuck on things. A copy described as complete should show both posters and both stickers in the photos, not just the record and sleeve. Reissues from 2003 onwards reproduce the posters and stickers, so a poster on its own does not prove the record is an original.

The sleeve itself is the other weak point. The black gatefold shows ring wear, scuffing and seam splits very clearly. If you are selling, photograph the sleeve in raking light and describe any wear honestly. If you are buying, ask for those photos. Our guide to original pressings versus reissues explains the general checks for telling an old sleeve from a new one.

If you have an original to sell, describe it with the details buyers check: label design, rim text, the runout on both sides, and which inserts are present. Our guide to selling vinyl covers where to list it. For the band's next albums, see our Animals vinyl guide and The Wall vinyl guide. To identify your copy from a photo, the VinylAI app reads the label and catalogue number, matches the pressing and adds it to your collection.