George Gershwin – Un Americano En Paris / Coppelia / El Buey Sobre El Tejado

About this record

Demand here runs ahead of supply in a quiet way: 68 collectors list this Spanish Philips compilation as owned, while only 3 list it as wanted, so the tension is in the condition ladder rather than the title. The sleeve bundles Gershwin's An American in Paris, Delibes' Coppelia and Milhaud's El Buey sobre el tejado, performed by the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra and London Symphony Orchestra under Antal Dorati, pressed by Philips in Spain in 1983.

It is a two-track LP, which means the whole value story sits on the grade of two long sides.

What drives its value

The price guide puts this pressing at 2.82 USD in Mint, 2.53 USD in Near Mint, 1.93 USD in VG+ and 1.34 USD in VG, with Good Plus at 0.74 USD and Poor at 0.15 USD. The guide is an estimate as of its date, and it runs from 1.34 USD at VG up to 2.82 USD at Mint, so grade is the main variable.

Current market activity shows 11 copies for sale, with the lowest listing at 2.95 USD, which sits above the guide's Mint figure and suggests asking prices are being set by sellers rather than by recent sales. The community data of 68 owners against 3 wants points to a supply-heavy catalogue where clean copies are the scarce element.

Because this record is a Spanish 1983 compilation rather than an original European Philips pressing of the individual works, it does not command the premium a first-issue would, and its value rests on condition and the presence of an intact sleeve.

How to appraise this pressing

Start with the label and catalogue number: this copy should read Philips with catalogue number 6851255 and no barcode, since the record carries no barcode in its data. Confirm the country of manufacture on the label and in the dead wax, where a Spanish pressing will show its plant identification; if the runout or matrix string on your copy does not match this release, the copy is not this pressing.

Check that the track listing is two sides, with the Gershwin and Delibes material and the Milhaud work completing the programme. For grading, play both sides at the listed speed and listen for consistent groove quality across the long Gershwin and Delibes passages, since movement in the sound is more telling than cosmetic wear.

Grade the sleeve separately from the vinyl, because compilation covers from this period often carry edge wear and ring wear that affects the price independently of the disc.

Further reading: grading a record, how to sell vinyl.