ROLLING STONES, STICKY FINGERS, 1971 UK COC 1st PRESS

	£		97
	$		129

betsy50 Store

Important Information

All UK bidders please read the domestic postage information in red at the bottom of the LP description.

Hello and welcome to my auction. My name is Nick - aka “playgraderecords”. I have been an avid record collector for many years. Although I like lots of modern music, my passion is for classic blues, psych and progressive albums from the mid 60s to the early 70s. I don’t sell many records – the ones that I do sell are either duplicates from my collection or top quality examples sourced from record fairs or my local record shops.

I take pride in the care and attention that I give to every record that I list for auction. The records from my own collection have always been stored upright in polythene sleeves away from dust and light. These seldom require any cleaning other than just a quick dust using a sticky rubber Nagaoka Rolling 152 and a carbon fibre anti-static brush before play.

Each new find is sympathetically cleaned to remove visible dust, debris and fingerprints, before being critically assessed for the quality of play. If I think that the audio can be improved by a deep clean to remove a build-up of debris embedded in the grooves, I will clean it using a tried and tested isopropyl alcohol based record cleaning solution. I have refined my cleaning method over the years to a fine art, and am confident that the results are far superior to those achieved by the popular vacuum cleaning machines. In reality, the playback of most 35+ years old records will be improved massively by a proper clean.

Consequently, the records that I offer for sale will be immaculately presented and will play to a very high standard with barely any unwanted surface sound or static to spoil the listening pleasure.

Each record is strictly graded, and any significant defects to either the record or the sleeve will be highlighted. I will not conveniently forget to mention faults in order to sell for higher prices. If I grade a record as being in MINT- condition, you can rest assured that it will be both visually and aurally a near perfect copy which will be impossible to significantly improve upon!

Customer satisfaction is very important to me and I aim to provide a professional 5-star service to make the Ebay experience an enjoyable one.

Okay, now that I have given you little background information about myself– its time to get on to the important bit:

Here for auction is a very special example of the iconic album by THE ROLLING STONES titled “STICKY FINGERS”, Catalogue Number COC 59100. This is an ORIGINAL 1971 UK STEREO PRESSING on the ROLLING STONES RECORDS LABEL, with A4/B4 Matrix Numbers and “T.M.L. Rolling Stones Records” etched in the run-outs of each side. What makes this copy so special is that the Andy Warhol designed zip sleeve is the ultra rare opening gatefold variant [I believe that a few of these gatefold sleeves were printed for export – but I am not certain]. In any event they are incredibly rare and do not come up for sale very often. The package comes complete with the correct 1st issue thick card Photo/Credits insert.

The opening gatefold zip sleeve is in EX condition with only light wear and a few creases - mostly in the belt area. The construction is very different to the standard sleeve. The front cover of the gatefold (which houses the zip) is a single sheet of card which opens as a normal gatefold. This has never been sealed along the right edge. This opens to reveal the record pocket featuring the infamous ‘underpants’ picture. There is an impression of the zip on the pants (caused from pressure during storage). The front and back covers are unmarked apart from a few impression marks caused by the zips on neighbouring LPs during the initial packaging and distribution. The spine is square and solid with perfect text. You can see from the photos that this is a very well preserved example of this rarest variant of the Sticky Fingers sleeves.

The top quality RSR record is very solidly pressed and sits flat and true on the turntable. This is the heaviest pressing of Sticky Fingers that I have ever come across. It has a thick square-cut rim edge. It is actually pressed slightly unevenly in that one half of the record is noticeably thicker than the other (which is up to 2mm thick). Visually I would grade both sides as being in close to EX condition as there are a few light surface marks evident under bright light. These are only superficial and do not cause any significant audio problems whatsoever. The beautiful RSR labels are unmarked with just a few spindle traces near the centres. There is barely any wear around the spindle hole.

PLAYGRADE ASSESSMENT:

This is a top quality RSR pressing with outstanding sound quality. Both sides play to a very high standard with all frequencies crystal clear. There is no discernable deterioration in sound quality and barely any unwanted noise at all (just occasional very light surface sound which is never intrusive and only mentioned for complete accuracy). The quiet introductions and passages in ‘Wild Horses’, ‘You Gotta Move’, ‘I Got The Blues’, ‘Sister Morphine’ and ‘Moonlight Mile’ play almost perfectly. I think that it will be very difficult to find a significantly better-playing copy of this seminal album – especially with the ultra rare gatefold sleeve!

The 1st issue thick card Photo/Credits Insert, printed in England by Richard Davis Ltd., is in unmarked EX condition.

Complete with the correct plain white die-cut inner sleeve which has a short split to the middle of the bottom edge and a few creases.

GRADINGS

The records that I offer for sale have been critically play-graded, at loud volume, on a Rega Planar 3 turntable fitted with an Elys 2 cartridge. I will only sell records that play to a high standard. My gradings are strict and in accordance with the following descriptions:

·         MINT- Record is superb, almost like new, with just a few sleeve removal type surface marks and no deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve is near perfect in all respects.

·         EX Record is a top quality example, with just a few very light surface marks which do not sound, and barely any discernable deterioration in sound quality. Sleeve has slight wear and/or creasing.

·         VG Record has some visual surface marks, but still plays to a high standard without any major deterioration in sound quality – just a few clicks or light surface sound in places. Sleeve has normal wear and tear without any major defects. Still a very presentable sleeve.

PACKAGING

Records are sent out in new “Wrapro” record mailers. These are rectangular and strong, providing excellent protection to the edges and corners. Records are removed from both inner and outer sleeves in order to prevent seam-splits in transit.

DOMESTIC POSTAGE

The free 2nd class postage option referred to above only applies to LPs paid for by UK cheque or Postal Order.

Due to PayPal’s Buyer Protection Policy, LPs paid for by PayPal must be posted using a fully trackable postal service, i.e. 1st class recorded at £3.95 or Special Delivery Next Day at £7.25. These options will be specified on the invoice. If a PayPal payment is received which does not include payment for one of these trackable services, an additional payment will be requested. This is not negotiable.  If you are not happy with the domestic postage charges please do not bid.

INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE

Due to PayPal’s Buyer Protection Policy, LPs posted outside of the UK (paid for by PayPal) will only be sent International Signed-For with insurance at the following cost:   

Europe up to £39 value - £8.95

Europe over £39 value - £11.15

Worldwide up to £39 value - £12.45

Worldwide over £39 value - £14.65

A postage discount will be given for multiple LPs