The most expensive hardcore punk records


Here is the countdown of the 10 most expensive hardcore punk records to our knowledge. It does not necessary mean that they are the greatest records. I guess the price is a combination of how rare the record is and how attractive it is. The estimated value is based on EX / NM condition from recent on-line auctions or information from international traders. The value should be seen as an indication rather that facts. For Mint the prices is even higher and for VG+ obviously lower. Okay – Hey Ho, Let’s Go!!!

This list is not exhaustive – there are for sure records we have missed and statements that are incorrect. Also non official releases like test presses, misprints or promos have been excluded. Please give us feedback in the comments below. And yes … the MISFITS releases has been excluded. Why ? – Not sure yet!!! Finally – there are some Japanese releases like: So What – Bloodwash The Dead City, Atomic Bomb – Hell’s Story, Human Gas/ Stali Nism split, Toxo Vomit – Crisis Of Life, Ikkashinjyu – Dead Section III…that is not part of the list as I know not much about Japanese HC

Updated in November 2012 – New price info on Judge, Necros and the Fix.

Updated in March 2014 – New price info on Judge and Zero Boys. Terveet Kädet replace Rattus on the list. New images of Necros

Updated in May 2014 – New top-price on Judge

Zero Boys ‎– Livin’ In the 80’s

Z-Disc – ZD 714 – 1980 – 7″

The HC pride of Indianapolis made their debut on their own DIY label “Z-Disc”. Frankly not so much hardcore after all but some great songs anyhow. With Vicious Circle LP in 1982 the Zero Boys developed a more hardcore sound. It might come to a surprise to find it on the list but it hard to find a complete release in good condition. The EP was pressed in 500 copies and fewer actually had a picture sleeve (200 copies according to several trustworthy sources) and of these even fewer had the lyric insert. This EP with sleeve and insert has been sold for 1,400 in 2011 and a wopping 1,800 dollars in February 2014. The later was a VG+ possible EX copy. We estimate of a value to a conservative 1,450 dollars.

There is an bootleg from 1999 on Zongs Music and a re-issue on Panic Button / Lookout! Records from 2000

You can listen to the whole EP on YouTube and read about the Zero Boys on Wikipedia.

I have not found any original picture of the insert, sorry


Must have insert!!! Drop a message if you got it for sale. Looking for VG+ or better



Terveet Kädet ‎– Rock Laahausta Vastaan

Ikbal – IKBALS 003 a – 1980- 7″

This is the first release by notorious “Terveet Kädet” from Tornio in from Finland on their own label Ikbal Records. It’s a raw proto-hardcore. Terveet Kädet has been seen by many the best that came out of the Nordic Countries. Of some reason many records in Finland was pressed in very few copies. The two first Terveet Kädet EP’s was pressed only in 200 copies, same as the first two Rattus EP (Khomeini-Rock and Fucking Disco) but also the first Riistetyt EP aswell as the Kaaos / Cadgers split. All essential stuff.

The records have white labels sometimes with hand written text. The matrix on is IKBALS – 003 A, it’s a single sided record.

There are few sales transactions on on-line auctions but copies has last year been sold for up to 2,000 dollars, we put in a conservative valuation here. We are talking about EX condition here!!!.

The picture scans are from the editors collection



Heart Attack – God Is Dead

Damaged Goods – DGR 001 – 1981 – 7″

God is Dead was the first 7″ by this New York HC act. Some of the members was quite young as well. I find this 7″ just great. In was pressed in 300 copies and is hard to find in good condition and the inserts are often gone. It was sold out in a couple of weeks after pressing. There is a great post on Good Bad Music where you also can listen to the music.

The original release came in a fold out sleeve with the dust sleeve stapled to it. There should be two inserts, one lyric sheet and one credit sheet, stapled together. Also – there is a bootleg out there and a re-issue. In the re-issue the lyric the two inserts are printed on one piece of paper. This insert is very similar the the original but not as clean as the original inserts. Matrix are 100-A-PRI MASTERDISK for the side A.

The price on this record has increased over time and a EX / NM will go for some 1,500 dollars. The most recent auction (in August 2012) it was sold with one missing insert in VG+ for close to 1.000 dollars

I could not find any good scans so these are from my copy, except for the last picture as I miss one of the inserts.


Looking for both inserts. One is missing in my copy. Drop a message if you got it for sale.









Chronic Sick – Cutest Band In Hardcore, The

Mutha Records – MUTHA 002 – 1983 – 12″

What about that cover!!! . This is the second release from Mutha records and it’s believed to be pressed in 300 copies. It’s for sure the holy grail for New Jersey hardcore. It came with a lyric insert. There is a 2010 re-press from No Way Records. Also – read and listen to an interesting post at KBD records convering this release.

This record is sells regulary for 1,500 dollars in Near Mint condtion. However – looking close to the the pictures at on-line auctions it seems like the same copy has been sold at least three times. Some Near Mint copies on Ebay are hardly Near Mint – mere VG+, a not to uncommon Ebay phenomena. BTW – the first Mutha release was The Worst that is traded around 500 bucks.

The scans are from KBD Records – I don’t have this release !!!


Drop a message if you got it for sale. Looking for VG+ or better






Minor Threat – In My Eyes “Gary Cousins sleeve”

Dischord Records – Dischord 5 – 1981 -7

WOW!!! This record so great I can’t find anything to write as my fingers are trembling typing on the keyboard. 4 killer songs – In My Eyes / Out Of Step / Guilty Of Being White / Steppin’ Stone. Amazing guitar sound and aggressive like hell.

There are totally 3 presses of “In my Eyes”. The first press was on red vinyl with yellow label (1000 copies). Going rate prices for these are 700 to 900 dollars. Second press is on black vinyl with yellow labels and the third press has blue labels. Also the paper on the third press it thicker than the others. Anyhow – this will get the collector-scum going: The first sleeve version of the first press was the “Gary Cousins” sleeve (125 copies). The offset printed sleeve where not ready for a show so a xerox version was made to have something to sell. On this sleeve version the credit for photography was given to Gary Cousins. On the printed version the spelling is Cousin. The “Gary Cousins” sleeve came as a fold out sleeve and the printed ones are glued. There should not be an insert for the “Gary Cousins” version as the inserts where not ready when the xerox version was made.

Going prices is 2,150 dollars – but beware!!! A copy was in VG+ was sold for 2,000+ in July 2012. Before throwing good money on this rare release make sure that seller is trustworthy and the provenance is good. Frankly – it’s an easy sleeve to counterfeit. I have learned the hard way myself

Also check out the KBD Records post on “In My Eyes”.






Excute – “A-Z flexi” aka “Go To Hell”

DOA Records – DOAR-001 – 1983 -7″ FLEXI

Japanese hardcore – what can I say – it’s like the Japanese comics or horror movies – always cranked up a notch. A lot of the early Japanese HC acts seems to have the same few funding members – I find it sometimes hard to understand the “who is who” in Japanese Hardcore punk. Also – according to me, the genre soon became crappy due to the metal cross-over in the end of the 80s. This flexi however is amazing. 10 really dirty songs, aggressive and with terrible sound quality – just like I want it. Check a clip out at YouTube (thanks valtionvankina for the clip)

I heard that it was pressed in 500 copies but flexis tend to go bad fast if played to often. Furthermore – Japan is serious collector market with a lot of money. To find a good copy is hard – cheap impossible! The “A-Z” flexi also came in various xerox covers (Dragon sleeve, Hanging corpse sleeve etc) so just to be sure that you are buying the real deal is hard. There are at least two trusted traders on e-bay where I would consider a purchase.

A nice copy was sold for 2,500 dollars in February 2012 (Swedish seller) and I believe it has only been sold at two occasions on Ebay earlier. There are at least two copies for sale now, priced between 2,000 and 3,500 (SIC!) dollars. You need a nice credit card to buy this release and also have the sleeve versions!!! If you want to spend more money on Japanese flexis you can also buy the Coward / Voice flexi or Gudon ‎/ 残忍聖者 “Cook” flexi and you easily spend another grand.






Bad Brains – Pay to Cum

Bad Brains Records – BB001 – 1980 – 7″

Bad Brains need no introduction and there are bunches of great blogs writing about this release – just surf the web. To put is short – according to me – it’s one of the top three hardcore 7″ ever made.

It’s a self-release by the band on Bad Brains Records. It is unclear how many copies were pressed. Most sources mention 200 copies whilst other talks about 400 copies. Compared to two most expensive records on this list, Pay to Cum trade at least a few times a year rather than once a year (at best) for the other two. However – many copies sold on eBay have not been in great condition (VG).

The price has increased steady over the years and nice copies trade regularly around 3,000 dollars meaning that the price fluctuation is less compared the item one and two on this list. However a listing in June on an EX condition copy ended at only? 2,125 dollars ?

The record came with a large insert (often referred as “a poster”). It seems that not all records came with an insert so a copy with the insert will maximize the value of this record. Original records have light tan labels with tan lettering. The Matrix is MOD-001-A RL (PR) on the A-side. There is also stamped MASTERSDISK on the run-out area. The 1981 repress (which only came with a stamped dust sleeve) have tan labels with red lettering. There are also bootlegs and even counterfeits but it’s quite easy to recognize the difference compared to the first press.

Also check out breakmyface.com where there is a full story on this release (and where most pictures where stolen…but also the NYHC and Classic Punk post or the post on this site.






The Fix – Vengeance / In This Town

Touch And Go – T&G 2 – 1981 – 7″

Go ahead! The second release from Touch and Go was pressed only in 200 copies (All on black vinyl). In addition the two tunes by this Michigan HC band are awesome. The price used to be higher compared to the first Touch and Go release “Necros – Sex Drive EP” which was pressed in only 100 copies. There are rumors that some of copies of Vengeance got damaged but it has not been re-confirmed by the band or the label. A Near Mint copy was sold for 4,250 dollars on eBay the other year and some moron paid 4,000 bucks for NM copy in spring of 2012 and in June 2012 a nice copy was sold for 3,000 dollars. In October 2012 there were two auctions on this record at at prie around 3,600 dollars. Thats a span of 3,000 to 4,250 for similar grading within a couple of years. So – can a record be worth the money the collector-scums are paying? Let’s leave that open for the discussion forum!!!

This release did not have any insert. There are a bunch of re-issues of this release, however the original press has matrix KRFT-04-A on side A and KRFT-04-B on side B. Also the labels are flipped and Records are spelled Rekords on the labels.

Also check out KBD records which has an interesting post on this 7 inch.






Necros – Sex Drive EP

Touch And Go – T&G 1 – 1981 – 7″

This is the first release from Touch and Go and it was pressed in astonishing low numbers – only 100 copies.. The four tunes of this Ohio hardcore band is not blowing me away, both the IQ32 EP and the Conquest for Death 7″ on the same label is much better.

This rare record was sold for 3650 dollars on eBay (2010) and a nice copy has recently (2012) been at sale for 3,000 to 3,300 dollars. An auction in October ended at 4805 dollars (looked Mint) and there were three bidders up to 4750 dollars. There has been a couple of private auctions in 2013 in a similar price range. It should also be noted that rare records like this often is traded outside the on-line auctions

The record came with an insert printed on both sides. Also – there are two sleeve versions. According to non-confirmed sources there is 13 copies with a full rear sleeve while the remaining copies have the rear about 1/2 of the height of the front sleeve (see pictures). A “sex pistol” sleeve was made before this, where all the song titles where presented, but they where discarded due to bad print (six of these are suppose to exist, but there are counterfeits out for sale.) … more. There are a bunch of re-issues and bootlegs of this release. The original press has matrix KMRP/KRNS-03-ONE on side one and MRP/KRNS-03-TWO on side two. Furthermore “Records” is spelled Rekords on the label.

Also check out this site where the various re-issues are presented with pictures.

The information of the sleeve versions are from several sources and they are not always consistent. So be careful and don’t interpret everything you read as “the truth”.









Judge– Chung King (Can Suck It)

Revelation Records – Rev-1 – 1989 -LP

Not my favorite of several reason, one being that I prefer 7″ over LP’s.

It’s pressed in 110 copies, all on white vinyl. Each copy has its number out of 100 stamped on the sleeve although the additional 10 copies have the second zero in “100″ manually altered to read “110. You can read the full story on wikipedia but short – Mike “Judge” was not happy with the studio recording but it got released anyhow. Most of the songs was re-recorded and became the Bringin’ It Down LP. Due to bootlegs (I guess) Revelation Records have tracked down most of the owners of the original release …[more]

There are very few sales on this item and it was sold on ebay some years ago. I know about two private copies that has been sold during 2010 – 2012 in the 4000 – 5000 dollar range, but the record hit a wopping 6,600 dollars in an auction in January of 2014. We made earlier conservative estimate but in March this record sold on discogs for a wopping 6,048 dollars.



I have excluded the offical Misfits releases. There are some quite expensive records out there and you can read about this on the Misfits central where both offical releases and bootlegs of offical releases are covered.
The rare stuff is Horror Business on black vinyl on Plan 9, Cough / Cool on Blank records and finally Bullet on Plan 9.


53 comments

  1. Chaos

    Really insane

  2. valtionvankina

    nice list of records, btw the clip your showing of the execute, i own that copyright and nme stole it from me and never gave me due credit.

  3. the editor

    Thanks for the feedback – I will update the list every month. Also I will add your credit to the clip. Thanx for reading my site.

  4. valtionvankina

    i was wondering if you though the child molesters – wholesale murder 7″ with band made sleeve should be in your top 10 i sold a copy about 6 years ago for 1350 now it’s probably twice the amount.

  5. the editor

    I had to balance what is hardcore and not., I had doubts adding Zero Boys first EP as it not much of HC. Child Molesters are for sure trading at sky high prices.
    When it comes to punk there is a lot of superexpensive super expense records (You know this better than me) like the A&S Sex Pistols press, the XTC 3D single, the Fingers, OPUS Procedures, The Nothing punk and for sure one Aussie title ( Just Urbain) and maybe Vicious Visions (Sweden) and we should not even mention the first press of the Misfits Horror Business.
    Oh – I should make a list of those!

  6. frunsi

    i think you should add Liberal Animation by NOFX (burgundy vinyl) to the list. it may be by a band known for making skatepunk/pop-punk, but trust me, that album (it’s from 1988) is hardcore as fuck. only 5 copies on burgundy vinyl exist and popsike says that it has sold for over $2000 multiple times

  7. the editor

    I agree that it for sure a rare record. It’s the same with the never seen blue version (5 copies). When compiling this list I not include test-presses, miss-prints and other un-official releases. What I understand is that both the burgundy vinyl and the blue vinyl was never offered as an official releases on the market place. However -. I thank you for drawing my attention to it and I will add it to the footnotes. For more info on this release please follow this link : http://nofxwiki.net/wiki/index.php?title=Liberal_Animation#Burgundy_Vinyl

  8. That second Judge picture is of the 10″ boot.

    • the editor

      Oh – most appreciated. I will check the images and correct. Thanks

  9. Erich

    own only one of these. saw the first fix 7″ in l.a. in 1988, but it was $50 and I decided not to buy it. haha. got ripped off twice on “cutest band in hc” (and still don’t own it). other sources say there’s only 250 or 300 made of the execute flexi (which I traded away, as well as that notorious coward flexi).

  10. Trashpalace

    Sold Judge Chung King for 2000€ 2 years ago in Utrecht

    • the editor

      Yeah – there will be an update. Another copy was sold for 3000 dollars I heard this spring. Also the new Necros – Sex Drive EP need to be revised. Thanks for the update. What about the Skatepark sleeve by the way.

  11. the editor

    Updated with new pictures of Judge – Chung King and Necros – Sex Drive. Later this week it will be updated as prices on Necros, Judge and the Fix has been adjusted…

  12. Patte Oldschool

    I was offered to buy Judge-Chung King at $120 in 1992, but at that time it was an awful lot of money so I didn’t buy it.

    • the editor

      Yeah – I heard about a guy that saw the fix in 1988 for 50 bucks as thougth it was outrangous! I have such a long list myself of stories like that so I hoping for amnesia!!

  13. Monica

    what about #1???

  14. Pingback: Anarchy is Expensive!! (Record Collector/Hardcore Content) - MyLesPaul.com

    • the editor

      As you saw we have excluded test-presses and miss-presses

  15. the editor

    Thanx Monica. There was an error. We have two number “two”. I have corrected that. Necros is number one….

  16. User

    Koro

  17. Raymond

    I have a number of 45’s that I purchased at the time of their release. I am not a record collector, just a fan. However, I have kept them in very good to excellent condition and was curious how I might sell some of them. Thanx.

    • the editor

      I would you get some help to grade the record. Browse for goldmine record grading. After that you can sell it on discogs or ebay or similar.

  18. outofstepsince81

    Sort of weird the Floorpunch EP from 1996 on gold vinyl is now a 1500 dollar record too.

  19. Doubter

    Is that Human Gas/Stalinism split real? Human Gas demo is on youtube but I can’t find anything about the split anywhere, really want to hear that

  20. the editor

    I really wonder the same thing

  21. the editor

    Ended at 6,600 dollar. The most expensive hardcore record sold on an auction!!!

  22. Peter

    Editor: I have the Zero Boys 7″. VG+ original WITH INSERT. Hadn’t planned on parting with it, but if you’re interested I can e-mail you photos, etc.

  23. anonymous

    The only thing that’s really worth that much paying for is an aforementioned record by the editor but not included in the list…

  24. I’ll take the Saigon 7in over any of these…

    • the editor

      Great EP. A NM would be possible above 1,000 bucks. Last ebay auction was in 2012 were one copy went for 900 and another for 1,000

  25. Gary

    Here are a couple of the records you listed and what they sold for on Discogs:
    Terveet Kadet 7″ sold for $1,653.15 at highest and $27.55 (!) at lowest
    Some lucky bastard got the Fix 7″ for $106.08

  26. the editor

    Right, I saw the price on TK on discogs. We are a little conservative here. I beleive that both the low bids on TK and Fix is for something that was put on the wrong release. It happends of and then. It was for sure a re-press

  27. Gary

    Yeah you are probably right about those low prices

  28. awesome list. fun as hell to read – wondering why Misfits (say “Cough/Cool” or early stuff) – didn’t make it? did they devalue over the last decade? Wish some Boston stuff made it, but oh well. The Fix and Necros and Judge and Minor Threat are all classics.

    • the editor

      Misfits should make it to the lsit. I would estimate Near Mint to 2,500 $. Misfits got excluded from the list of no real reason. In time I update it I will remove Execute (To a Japanese list I am working on) and add TWO Misfits releases. On Boston area I would add the Adolf Hitler sleeve with Last Rights, but it does not qualify to the top 10 list.

  29. Gary

    Looking forward to that Japanese list!

  30. Gary

    Here is a recent Swedish record sold on Discogs you may find interesting. Not exactly hardcore, but Sweden’s Vicious Visions – I Beat You/No No No 7″ from 1983 sold for $1875.00. Yikes!

    • the editor

      That’s right. Here you can find the most rare Swedish punk records. I would agree that Vicious Vision don’t qualify as hardcore. There are several “punk” records that would command very high prices, there is no list here however. A final word, this 7″ (Vicious Visions) was sold for 3,000 Euros by Trash Palace in Stockholm quite recently. That was a copy in very very good condition

  31. [Name removed]

    Minor Threat(Gary sleeve)and original Bad Brains for sale.Also,Necros-Endless Summer sleeve for TRADE only! [Name removed]

  32. [Name removed]

    Also…Minor Threat -In my eyes(TP),and Negative Approach re-TP(?), all records are direct from Tesco Vee(he was moving to DC and sold tons of wax) [Name removed]

  33. sean mallet

    Look for RFTC First 7″ to be re-pressed on 5-15-2015.The record and the sleeve will BOTH say “re-pressing” on them,250-500 copies will be available. Screw Pushead!!!

  34. mark

    honourable mention for these? N.A.coloured pic sleeve ,saigon, koro, agentorange with insert, anticimex uncut sleeve , reign of terror, m.a.p.

  35. got minor threats one

  36. mb

    minor threat 1st red sleeve with alternate`ian pic`lyric sheet just went for $1200

  37. How about The Dils Made in Canada ep and the Rude Norton Ep – there were only likel 200 each of those – hard to find.

  38. Mark

    The Chung king is definitely a $6000+ record now. I should know, I bought one. Others have gone for the same on private collector sites. It’s never going down in value. I’d love to know what will become of this stuff in 100’s of years time.

  39. Tommy

    RATTUS BLOW UP UR TOILET LETS GET DRUNK ON SHIT BEER!!?!?!!?!!”110118y1*Y!)*1

    • the editor

      Thank for the link to the blog, and hell yeah, shit beer!

  40. Kevin Ellis

    Damn, I used to have that The Fix 7″.

    I sold my original KORO 7″ in 2005 for $380. I wonder what it’s worth now?

    • the editor

      A nice Koro is > 1,000 dollars these days

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