Rarest U.S. Beatles Record Gets $35,000

It's believed that only five or six copies were ever produced

July 25, 2012
By James Massey

An rare Beatles promotional record, featuring the songs "Ask Me Why" and "Anna" fetched $35,000 (after buyers premium) in an auction on July 24th.

Source: Heritage Auctions

The record, a 45 by Vee Jay Records (Vee-Jay Special DJ No. 8, 1964), is thought to be the rarest Beatles Promo released in the United States.

Why's It Rare?

According to (the seller) Heritage Auctions description; "This is, by far, the rarest Beatles 45 in the entire USA, period. Purportedly as few as five copies of this promotional 45 were ever produced (for reasons still unclear to this day). There was never a commercial release combining these two songs, although they both appeared on the more common version of the Introducing The Beatles LP and on the Vee-Jay EP."

A description on UltimateBeatlesCollection.com, may provide a bit more insight into the records history. UBC states; "The record was given out to a few Los Angeles radio stations in 1964 to test the market for the single." They go on to claim there are only six (6) examples known to exist. That's one more than Heritage's claim of five (5), but either way the promo appears to be extremely rare.

For more info and photos of the Beatles promo see; Heritage Auctions listing.

Strong Sales for Rare Beatles Memorabilia in 2012

While this is the highest-priced vintage (record) vinyl sale I've seen all year. Other early Beatles vinyl and memorabilia items have continued to be hot in 2012, as illustrated by the following sales:

April, we reported an fully-signed early record had fetched $24,675, and a rare promotional demo (record) collected $19,586. Both on eBay.
May, The Guardian reported The Beatles famed 'Backwards' Abbey Road photograph had sold for $25,000 (£16,000).
June, an extremely rare Cavern Club Beatles Poster fetched $42,515.
July, a vintage album known as the first Beatles album released in the United States collected $14,999, and then a vintage Beatles Vee-Jay album that was once thought to be a 'flop' fetched $22,268

Other Related Auctions and Information:

Sold: $26k Beatles "Butcher" Record
Sold: $7k for Super Secret Beatles Ticket
Ten Top Beatles items sold on eBay
Bids Stall at $31k for Beatles 'Sleeve'
Top 25 Music Memorabilia Items on eBay
Top 25 Vintage Vinyl Records on eBay
All Top Beatles Memorabilia Today (eBay)

Story Resources:

Beatles Rarest Promo 45 - Heritage Auctions (Sale Listing)
Special DJ No. 8 - UltimateBeatlesCollection.com

jueves, 26 de julio de 2012