The Beatles Original Fan Club Christmas Album LP (Guaranteed Authentic Copy)

$

161

In this auction:

• “THE BEATLES CHRISTMAS ALBUM” LP by The Beatles

• This LP is Apple Records SBC 100.

• This LP was issued in Spring, 1971.

• Original copies of this LP were issued ONLY to members of the U.S. Beatles Fan Club.

• So a person could not walk into a record store in the Spring of 1971 and purchase this LP.

• The LP contains all of The Beatles’ Christmas messages that were provided to Beatles Fan Club members on 7-inch vinyl flexi-discs from 1963 to 1969.

• Since this LP was not produced for commercial/retail sale and was only issued to Beatles Fan Club members, the Labels and Cover have the printing “NOT FOR SALE”.

• The Beatles Fan Club Christmas Album LP has been heavily counterfeited over the years. How do we know that this one is authentic? Because it has all of the following identifiers:

1. Genuine covers, like the one in this auction, are constructed of cardboard (not poster-board) with front and rear slicks pasted on.

2. Genuine covers have sharp images on the front cover slick.

3. On the front cover slick, in the lower left photo of Ringo, both of his eyeballs are clearly visible. (Counterfeit covers have blurry images or his right eye is covered by dark shadows.)

4. On the front slick, the second photo from the left in the bottom row, “THEATRE ROYA” (as in “THEATER ROYAL”) is easily readable.

5. Genuine discs have “Bell Sound” stamped into the trail-off vinyl (dead wax) on both sides.

6. Genuine discs have “MFD. BY APPLE RECORDS, INC. printed on the bottom of the full-apple label.

7. Genuine discs, like the one in this auction, were pressed at Capitol’s Winchester plant and have the Winchester plant symbol etched in the trail-off (dead wax) on both sides.

8. But the primary identifier of genuine discs, like the one in this auction, is a visible pressing or indention ring on the labels that is 1 ½ -inches in diameter. (Counterfeit discs have a much larger pressing ring.)

• The COVER is in VERY STRONG VG+ CONDITION. Only some very light wear at the bottom of the front cover, near the top of the rear cover and at the bottom of the rear cover and some very light wear on the corners kept me from grading the cover Near Mint. The seams are all solid. There is a very small “push” on the lower right corner at the bottom of the opening. There are NO tears, NO seam splits, NO creases, NO writing, NO ring wear and NO cracking or flaking on the seams. (Any light areas on the cover in the images is the reflection of the flash.)

• The VINYL is in VERY STRONG VG+ CONDITION (not far from Near Mint) with a few very light/slight surface hairlines/scuffs (none of them at all “feelable”).

This GUARANTEED GENUINE COPY of “The Beatles Christmas Album”, issued to Beatles Fan Club members ONLY, is REALLY in VERY NICE CONDITION.

Thanks to the Price Guide for the Beatles American Records by Perry Cox and Frank Daniels for some information about this original and genuine LP, its identifiers and identifiers of counterfeit issues.

FYI: I use the COVER/SLEEVE GRADES and RECORD GRADES listed and described on page 8 of the Price Guide for the Beatles American Records, 6th Ed. for grading. These grades are Poor (P), Fair (F), Good Minus (G-), Good (G), Good+ (G+), Very Good Minus (VG-), Very Good (VG), Very Good Plus (VG+), Near Mint Minus (NM-), Near Mint (NM), Mint Minus (M-), and Mint (M or MT) to VISUALLY GRADE this LP, so please know the descriptions of these grades before bidding. Please ask any questions BEFORE bidding. And please check my other auctions for more Beatles and related vinyl that you may want to add to your collection. Be high bidder on several and combine shipping on auction items that finish the same day. (NOTE: If more than 1 item is won by the same bidder, please do NOT make payment until I send an invoice with combined shipping cost.) Winning bidder must make payment within 5 days of auction close. Add $5.00 for shipping to a U.S. address via USPS Media Mail with tracking. Expedited shipping is available at additional cost.