Piper at the gates of dawn - The Pink Floyd | G=1 | very first press | MONO

	£		124
	$		164

The Pink Floyd - Piper at the gates of dawn 
An absolute timeless classic, with the original founding member Syd Barrett. A highly collectable piece of musical history!
Before you read on it is vital to address that many of these albums that are listed online as 'first press' simply because they are on the blue and black Columbia are absolutely not the true very first press. THIS copy up for sale IS the absolute earliest version made, and is the rarest copy you can ever have.
First of all, to eliminate half of these so called 'first' pressings you want to look to see if they are on the blue and black Columbia, on a mono version with no 'file under popular' at the top right of the back cover. If a copy fulfills this then it does qualify as being an early pressing. However, even at this stage there are still many issues after.
To find the very first copy you MUST read the matrix. At this point I would highly recommend you look at the Pink Floyd Archives website: 
http://pinkfloydarchives.com/DUKLPPF.htm#Pipermono1
Here under the piper at the gates of dawn first mono section you will see everything I've said confirmed (I recommend reading all the section), and, see just how many issues there are of the blue and black Columbia label.
If you follow correctly you will see that the Matrix code below is the absolute true first, earliest pressing there is.
XAX 3419-2 G 1 / XAX 3420-1 G 1 (both stamped) 
Only if a copy has this matrix is it a true first press.
This copy here for sale IS that pressing, and IS therefore possibly the rarest version to be ever listed on eBay. 

This could very well be an unprecedented listing, and an EXTREMELY rare chance for the completists to get their hands on this piece. I doubt there will be many opportunities to get this copy in the near future.

CONDITION 
The condition of a piece like this isn't even the main focus because it is so incredibly rare, and is hard to find at all. However, I did test play this to see how it played, which in my personal opinion was not too bad at all.   NOTE: this was test played on my own personal system (project debut carbon, at 2g tracking force) so it cannot possibly replicate exactly what it will be like for you - maybe worse or maybe even better. I have to say this to cover my description, which is common sense for most, but then again this is eBay so I have to make sure! This is MY opinion. Record was ultrasonically cleaned prior on a £2,500 machine.
Test play: 
Track 1: at the very start there was some surface noise which came in waves. This diminished a lot however when the voice came in.
Track 2: there was only very mild, minor background noise.
Track3: a bit of crackle running into the song at the very start. This did lessen.
Track 4: very minimal surface noise
Track 5: had a bit of surface noise throughout although it didn't retract from the song at all.
Track 6: very minimal surface noise
Track 7: very minimal surface noise
Track 8: not much surface noise at all.
Track 9: very minimal surface noise
Track 10: very minimal surface noise.
Track 11: very little surface noise.
Generally the sound was very sharp and punchy with a lovely clear sound which overruled any surface noise when there was any.
Visually: disc looks about a G+ overall but sounds better than it looks I think. It did NOT skip, jump or stick. It has many hairlines and a few marks on the surface. (By saying Good+ I am referring to the record grading system. Please look this up if you are unfamiliar)
Cover: it looks around the VG mark, with a nice legible spine and no tearing or splits. It doesn't have any writing at all. Signs of ageing with a bit of rubbing at the opening and ware to two corners. Generally however it is a very nice cover free from any grubbiness. Please see photos.

This item will have to be sent first class, tracked and signed for. 
I am saying no returns on this auction because it is such a delicate piece and I wish to avoid time wasters and people who are not genuine.
Please check out my other items in the future as I will be listing lots of rarities from my own personal collection.
Here is your chance to own a bit of musical history, on the absolute rarest pressing available!
Don't miss out on this opportunity.
UK only Will send in a PVC sleeve Will include a nagaoka antistatic inner.
Thanks for looking.