L'Orchestre De La Suisse Romande – Carmen - The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

About this record

Two matrix strings are stamped in the dead wax of this US Polydor pressing, and both carry the "STERLING" tag alongside the PRC-C1 plant code, so the runout is the first thing to read. The two stampings differ in their hyphenation and suffix ("-AS" against "-BS"), which is the detail that separates one state of this 1983 Carmen soundtrack from the other.

Demand is modest but real: 59 community members list a copy as owned while 6 want one.

What drives its value

The published guide puts this LP at 4.37 USD in Mint, 3.91 in Near Mint, and 2.99 in VG+, falling to 2.07 in VG, so the spread runs from 4.37 at the top down to 2.07 at VG. Below VG the guide drops to 1.15 for G+, 0.69 for G, 0.46 for F and 0.23 for Poor, which shows how steeply value falls once surface wear becomes visible.

The guide does not list a current lowest asking price and gives no count of copies for sale, so there is no live market snapshot to set against these figures. Community data points the same way: 59 have and 6 want suggests a record that is common in collections yet sought by a small group of buyers.

The release is a US pressing by Polydor on the 817 247-1 Y-1 catalogue number, and that US origin, rather than being an original European issue, is the main factor placing it in the lower price tier of the listed editions.

How to appraise this pressing

Confirm the pressing from the dead wax before grading anything. The label should read Polydor with catalogue number 817 247-1 Y-1, and the runout should carry the matrix string 422 817247-1-AS followed by PRC-C1-1-1 and STERLING, or the variant 422 817-247-1-BS-PRC-C1-1-1 with the STERLING mark.

The first string points to the PRC Recording Company in Compton, California, while the second is credited to Polydor Records, Inc., so the plant credit differs between the two stampings and should be checked on your copy. A barcode is present on this release, which helps confirm the edition.

Once the matrix and catalogue are verified, grade the sleeve and disc together using the standard Mint through Poor scale, and match the grade to the guide value at that level. Look at the playing surface under raking light and listen to the side for any loss of level or distortion before assigning VG+ or above.

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