Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon 1973 **ORIGINAL FACTORY SEALED** 1ST ISSUE LP

$

549

**PINK FLOYD - "DARK SIDE OF THE MOON" LP - (1973)**

**VERY FIRST PRESSING W/BLACK HYPE STICKER**

**HARVEST RECORDS ~ STEREO SMAS-11163**

*ORIGINAL FACTORY SEALED*

PLEASE READ ENTIRE DESCRIPTION!!!

This is the HOLY GRAIL of sealed record albums! By far, the most sought after sealed album in existence! This listing is for a beautiful FACTORY SEALED example of Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon". This is the ORIGINAL FIRST pressing on Harvest Records (SMAS 11163) from 1973. Issued with the round BLACK Dark Side of the Moon hype sticker on the shrink wrap that says: Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon SMAS 11163. The BLACK sticker (combined with no barcode) indicates a FIRST ISSUE of this LP. Album includes two posters, each with their own catalog number (11163-1 and 11163-2), and two stickers.  The necessary breath holes are present and can be seen in the photos. If you look above the hype sticker, you can see the ORIGINAL record store price sticker! Sorry for the blurry photo. The price sticker is in great shape and shows the retail price of $3.75. 

In 1973, this BRAND NEW album sold for $3.75. Now, sealed examples of this album sell for between $700 to $1,200 depending on condition. In terms of condition, this particular example is definitely one of the better sealed examples you will ever find! The sealed first pressings of DSOTM carry a big premium among vinyl collectors. If you take care of it, this particular album will increase in value year after year. This is an INVESTMENT GRADE ALBUM! So regardless of how much you spend today, you are virtually guaranteed to sell this album for more money down the road. 

To demonstrate the investment potential for this particular album, just consider the market value of this LP over the last 20 years. If you purchased this album (sealed first issue) in the late 1990's, it would have cost around $100. In 2007, the exact same album would have sold for approximately $250. As recent as 2012, a sealed first issue of Dark Side of the Moon would have sold for between $325-$400. That's a 200% to 300% increase in the market value from 2012 to the present! And there is no evidence to suggest the market value will slow down any time soon! If this trend continues, this album could be worth $2,000 or more by the year 2022. Very few investments (or albums) will give you that type of return in only a few years!

This is 100% GUARANTEED to be an ORIGINAL FIRST U.S. PRESSING from 1973! Many sellers, through ignorance and/or deception, will advertise sealed examples of DSOTM as a "FIRST PRESSING" when in fact, they are selling 2nd issues or even 3rd issues. If you see a dark purple hype sticker, it's a SECOND PRESSING! To be a TRUE FIRST PRESSING of DSOTM, the album cover MUST have a BLACK hype sticker on the front. There is a sealed example of DSOTM with the purple hype sticker selling on ebay right now. The seller claims it's a FIRST PRESSING but it's actually a second pressing. The other key indicator which distinguishes a FIRST issue from later issues is the presence of UPC barcode on the back cover. If you see a barcode on the back cover, the album was issued AFTER 1979.  NO BARCODE on the back cover indicates it's an early pressing from the 1970s. This album is GUARANTEED to include both ORIGINAL posters and both ORIGINAL stickers!

CONDITION: NEAR MINT MINUS

The vinyl is unplayed and considered to be MINT! The album cover is NEAR MINT MINUS in my opinion. I rarely use the MINT designation for a cover because in my experience with album covers, MINT examples are extremely rare. This particular cover is basically as good as it gets. The only thing keeping this one from being in MINT condition is some separation in the shrink wrap which can be seen in the photos. As you can see, there is significant separation in the shrink at the top seam and much less separation of the shrink near the bottom seam. If you look closely at the photos, you can see where the shrink has separated. There is also a little separation in the shrink, near the opening of the cover, closer to the top of the mouth. But rest assured, this album is STILL FACTORY SEALED!

If you were to see this album in person, you simply wouldn't believe that it's 45 years old. The cover itself is NOT impacted by the separation in the shrink. As you can see, the cover itself is PRISTINE! It has 4 razor sharp corners. The spine is immaculate! Even the shrink itself is SUPER CLEAN! Usually a sealed example of this album would have dinged corners or creases in the cover or rubbing stains resulting from friction with other album covers. THIS ONE DOESN'T HAVE ANY OF THOSE COMMON FLAWS! I've been collecting vinyl for the last 25 years and its almost impossible to find a SEALED example in this condition! Most sellers would classify this cover as MINT! Due to the issues with the shrink separation and a tiny bit of wear to the bottom seam, i give this album a NEAR MINT++ grade. Again, the first issue of DSOTM is nearly 45 years old so you're going to find flaws on just about any sealed example you will find.  There are going to be some issues on nearly every sealed example you will find. But this one is just about as good as it gets! 

Overall, this album is NEAR MINT++. 

Please use all the pictures to help determine the condition

The album will be carefully packed in an over-sized record mailer and shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Insurance and signature confirmation will be added. It should arrive within 3-4 business days!

Feel free to email if you have any questions. Please check out my 100% positive feedback!

Thanks for looking!!!

Bid with confidence!!!