Elvis’ Golden Records on Vinyl: Every Volume, First Pressings and Value

RCA issued five Golden (later Gold) Records compilations. Volumes 1 to 4 appeared while Elvis was alive; Volume 5 came out in 1984. The table gives the facts for each, and the copy of each volume that collectors pay for.

Release dates vary slightly between sources: boija.com gives November 15, 1959 for Volume 2 and February 1968 for Volume 4, Wikipedia November 13, 1959 and January 2, 1968, and Goldmine lists the first Volume 2 under 1960. The catalogue numbers do not vary, and they are what matters when you identify a copy.

The first volume collected Elvis’s hit singles of 1956 and 1957: fourteen tracks, nine of them number-one A-sides, plus four B-sides and the album track “Love Me”. It reached number three on the Billboard chart and is certified 6× Platinum, so there are a lot of copies. A 1958 first pressing has all of these:

• Catalogue number LPM-1707 on the label and cover — mono only. There was no stereo edition until 1962.
• Label: black with silver print, the dog and gramophone at the top, “Long Play” at the bottom and the “New Orthophonic” High Fidelity tag.
• Front cover: the title in light-blue letters and no song titles. Song titles were added to the front in the early-1960s revision.
• Run-out: H2WP-8398 on side 1 and H2WP-8399 on side 2, with a stamper number and a plant letter — I for Indianapolis, for example.

The back cover text was also revised: according to boija.com, a late-1958 printing changed “several rehearsal takes” to “thirty-one grueling takes”, and Hollywood-pressed copies lack the “Camden NJ” text on the labels. Goldmine’s 2023 guide lists the 1958 edition at $500 with or without an “RE” on the back cover. Our LPM-1707 market card lists the run-out variants transcribed from real copies.

Volume 1 stayed in print for decades, which is why the same title can be worth $500 or $5. Each edition can be dated by its label and catalogue number:

LSP-1707(e) is the one most often misread. Released in February 1962, it is “electronically reprocessed” stereo — a simulated stereo version made from the mono recordings, not a true stereo mix. Collectors look for the very first (e) covers that were printed without the “(e)”; boija.com calls them very rare. For the label eras in general see the dating table in our Elvis vinyl value guide.

The full list of vinyl editions on Discogs, oldest first, shows how often the album was repressed:

The second volume, released in November 1959, carries one of the best-known titles in rock and roll: 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong — Elvis’ Gold Records, Vol. 2. It reached number 31 and was certified Gold in 1966 and Platinum in 1992. Goldmine’s 2023 guide distinguishes these mono editions:

• First issue, $500: “Long Play” on the label and “Magic Millions” at the upper right of the front cover with the RCA Victor logo.
• 1963, $200: “RE” on the lower right of the front cover.
• 1964, $80–100: “Monaural” on the label; one variant prints “50,000,000 Elvis Presley Fans Can’t Be Wrong” on the label.

The stereo edition, LSP-2075(e), followed in February 1962 and is again simulated stereo. Our LPM-2075 market card lists the run-outs K2PP-2713 and K2PP-2714 with the Hollywood plant mark.

Volume 3 (LPM-2765 / LSP-2765) was released on August 12, 1963 in mono and true stereo at the same time, and reached number three. Goldmine’s 2023 guide lists the 1963 mono at $350 and the 1964 mono at $100. The stereo copies on later labels are common.

Volume 4 (LPM-3921 / LSP-3921), titled Elvis’ Gold Records, Volume 4, is the volume collectors chase. It came out in early 1968, when record companies were dropping mono LPs. Wikipedia notes that RCA issued very few mono copies and that they are considered valuable collector’s items; boija.com calls the mono edition — an Indianapolis pressing on the label with “Monaural” at the bottom — ultra-rare. Goldmine’s 2023 guide lists it at $3,000, the highest figure for any Golden Records volume.

The stereo LSP-3921 is common. So check the prefix: a copy that reads LPM-3921 on the label deserves expert attention; LSP-3921 does not. If you think you have the mono, grade it carefully with our vinyl grading guide and compare the label with a documented copy before you price it.

Elvis’ Gold Records, Volume 5 was issued in March 1984 as AFL1-4941, in stereo, seven years after Elvis’s death. It bubbled under the Billboard chart at 207 and was certified Gold in 1999. It has no rare first-pressing variant of note, and copies are common.

Volume 1 kept appearing in new forms: a 1984 mono remaster (AFM1-5196), European 180 g reissues, and a 2020 US edition on gold vinyl. These are good listening copies. They are not 1958 records, and their run-outs, labels and barcodes show it. For how reissues compare with originals in general, see original pressing vs reissue.

Put together, the value of a Golden Records LP follows a simple rule: first mono pressing of the early volumes, or mono Volume 4 — worth checking; anything else — usually a few dollars. The Goldmine figures quoted on this page are guide values for the variant described, published on September 22, 2023. They are not sale prices, and they assume a clean copy. A worn 1958 LPM-1707 with a split cover sells for a fraction of $500.

• LPM-1707, 1958 cover with light-blue title: the one Volume 1 worth investigating.
• LPM-2075 with “Magic Millions” on the front: the Volume 2 first issue.
• LPM-2765, 1963: the Volume 3 first mono.
• LPM-3921: the mono Volume 4 — rare.
• LSP(e) stereo, orange labels, AFL1 and AQL1 reissues, Volume 5: common.

We do not quote Discogs marketplace prices: they are asking prices, not sales. Grade the record and the cover before you compare with any figure.

Most people meet Elvis on vinyl through a Golden Records album, because those compilations were in print for so long. That is also why they are rarely the valuable part of a box of Elvis records. If you have a Golden Records LP, check the other Elvis records with it: the 1956 debut LPM-1254, Elvis (LPM-1382), the Christmas album and the Sun singles are where the larger values are. Our Elvis vinyl value table covers 25 key records with sources, and the Moody Blue guide explains why the blue copy is the common one.

To identify a record quickly, photograph the cover or label with VinylAI, which identifies the release. Read the run-out yourself and compare it with the market card. If the record turns out to be a first pressing, our guide on how to sell vinyl records explains where to list it.