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THE BEATLES - The Beatles (The White Album)

Original UK 1st press Low Number Mono LP

Apple (PMC 7068)

Very rare Low Number UK Mono 1st press White Album. White Albums numbered under 10,000 are highly sought after and don't come up for sale very often. This copy is not only complete, but everything matches the low numbered sleeve. So we have the correct Apple labels which have the "Sold in the UK..." text but omit "An EMI Recording". So all four labels do not have the EMI recording credit and this is how they should be on such an early pressing. It is obviously the correct top opening, fully laminated sleeve. The records are housed in the correct black inner sleeves with a die cut on just one side. All four portraits are here and even have the original white spacer. The double sided poster with the lyrics on one side is also present.

The number is 0002844 which is considered a very low number. This matches with two early labels and two early pressed records with early Matrix, Mothers & Stampers. Most white albums turn up trashed, but this one is luckily far better than that. It is not mint, but it has not been overplayed and the playback is still superb; strong, powerful and clear. The inners are in very good condition, the poster is a very strong excellent while the portraits are in superb condition. I't's interesting to note that after a lot of research on low numbered Mono White Albums, i've noticed that the Mother and Stampers on Record Two are nearly always much earlier than Record One.

Matrix:

Side 1) XEX 709-1 (5 OM)

Side 2) XEX 710-1 (7 OL)

Side 3) XEX 711-1 (2 P)

Side 4) XEX 712-1 (1 T)

The sleeve is in vg+ condition, still solid & certainly not trashed like many are. However, it does show signs of its age. It has the usual light discolouration including a light stain on the rear which the photo shows up. Some wear to the edges and spine. There is also wear to the corners, the bottom of the spine being the most pronounced. Otherwise there is just the odd light laminate crease. There are no tears, writing or splits. A solid example but still below excellent.

The labels are in excellent + condition with just the very lightest touch of spindle wear and there are a few spindle traces. There is no writing, stains or tears. There is a KT Tax Code embossed on label three.

The vinyl on Record One is vg++ condition. It still has its original full gloss sheen with little to report on . There are a series of light scuff marks at the begining of side one which can't be felt & just the odd wispy light line when viewed under a very bright light. None of these can be felt. Side One plays near mint, really nothing to report; strong, crisp & powerful playback. Side Two plays excellent + with just the slightest touch of extremely occasional crackle and just a couple of dull pops.

The vinyl on Record Two is vg+, the + being added for playback. It still has a lot of its full gloss sheen but shows more signs of play. There are several longer light hairlines. On both sides there are two short marks that can be felt, one only just. Both of these play through with no clicks on our sensitive set up. Infact both sides play near mint with wonderful clear and strong performance.

Despite the two short marks that can be felt on Record Two and the hairlines, i would say that this record has been played only sparingly, probably not as carefully as one would like though, hence the marks. This is evident not only by such a small amount of spindle wear but also the complete absence of groove wear. Most 1960's systems had a very heavy tracking weight and even records that seem to be near mint can suffer from groove wear on playback. Thankfully this copy does not and playback is a pleasure.

All in all, this is a decent low numbered White Album with wonderful playback. Overall i would grade vg+ for sleeve and records, but that is a strict grade and playback is superb thanks to a lack of groove wear. For such a low number i believe it to be an acceptable condition White Album. Not for the Mint collectors though.

Please note that this grading has nothing to do with the age of the record, we grade all records the same whether they are 40 years old or 4 days old. 

For the last 20 years we have been looking through 100's & even 1,000's of records every week, but we still only pull out a tiny percentage to sell on. 

Condition

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Near Mint

Almost mint.Very minor paper scuffs and very little else can appear on the vinyl. This will most likely have occurred during packaging, or removing the record from the inner sleeve but obviously it had been handled with extreme care.Any flaw should be very hard to see. The cover should look as close to perfect with only minor signs of wear and/or age. Minor impressions to the cover (due to the outer edge of the vinyl resting inside) may be acceptable, however the artwork should be as close to perfect as can be.

Excellent

An excellent condition for vinyl will allow minor scuffs (Scuffs lay on top of the grooves) which are visible but only slightly.The wear should be minimal.The play should be close to perfect as well. Some impression to the cover (minor outer ring wear) but no ink wear. Some slight creases to the corners, but not wrinkled and obtrusive to the eye. The corners can show a little white, meaning slight wear. No seam splits or writing on the cover or taped repairs.

VG++

As Excellent but with a larger number of scuffs, maybe a couple of hairlines (very light scratch that can't be felt) or a couple of marks. Sound quality should still be very close to that of an Excellent record with only minor crackle in quiet segments only, NO scratches that can be felt. Cover as Excellent but there may be a small seam split on the cover, or a very minimal amount of writing like a name written in small writing or a number. A VG++ record should be an acceptable record to live with if you aren't looking to pay the price of a Near Mint copy.