Question: Hello, a friend of mine wants me to sell his Beatles Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack. It has only ever been played 12 times, is in very good condition and its one of the originals produced by The Beatles made in England. (Is that uncommon?) It is a 1967 Capitol SMAL-2835 release, and includes the 24-page full color picture book, also in good condition. I am wondering where I could find some info about this release that would set a reasonable grounds for going about knowing how much itd sell for. Also where could this possibly be appraised, or does Goldmine have a guide?
Idle, via e-mail
Answer: Yes, Goldmine does have a guide check out the Goldmine Standard Catalog of American Records 1948-1991, available at http://shop.collect.com but Im afraid your friends copy of Magical Mystery Tour may not be one of the higher-priced Beatles albums youll find there.
As with all Beatles albums, the soundtrack to the 1967 British television Christmas special went through a lot of different printings, each of which has its own appeal (or lack thereof) for serious collectors. Yours is a stereo copy, so the first thing to do is check the label and make sure it really is an original. The label should be black with a rainbow edge, with the words mfd by Capitol Records Inc USA TM on the lower left-hand edge. Capitol repressed the album in 1969, but with the additional text a Subsidiary of Capitol Industries Inc. The 1967 date and the made in England information remained the same. Regarding value, the first pressing is by far the most desirable; the 1969 version tends to sell for around half the earlier discs value, with subsequent reissues, on green (1969), orange (1976) and purple (1988) labels declining even further. As always, however, condition is paramount. Though it has been played just a dozen times, be aware that the Mint value of the record has already been chipped away.
Dave Thompson
Question: Im new at the record collecting stuff, but Im having a blast thanks to the newest edition of your price guide. Also, I recently bought a Superman comic album; it has a comic book and record together, and Ive also seen some Spider-Man records in local antique shops, and Im curious if theyre worth anything or how I could find out.
Jeremy Clark, Stillwater, Okla.
Answer: Overstreets price guide describes the Superman Record Comic (1966, Golden Records) as, Record reads origin of Superman from comic; came with iron-on patch, decoder, membership card & button; comic reprints Superman #125, #146. If this matches what you have, the complete set in Good condition is $14. In perfect shape, itd be $260. The comic only would be $8 in Good, $130 in perfect. The problem? Finding a buyer. We checked on eBay for superman lp record and found a mix of records and prices. As for Spider-Man … there are a bunch of Spider-Man records. We suggest you get specifics, then check eBays Buy It Now listings using the keywords spider-man lp record to gauge prices.
Maggie Thompson, CBGXtra.com
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