Normally I think test press collecting is pretty boring, though I do think it’s cool when they come with proper sleeves and inserts — it makes them slightly more desirable in my book. What’s not cool though (for me anyways) is when my friend scored one of these for $25 off a craigslist ad in Boston a couple years ago. I did nab a Black Market Baby 7″ test press off the same ad though for $10, so all was not lost (read more about that later).

Note: the black vinyl copy I posted a week or two ago ended at $350. Naysayerz be damned (this means you “chris”).

So while everyone else is sweating pre618‘s Dischord singles, I’m standing by to see what this fine Gentlemen of Horror Sterling Death 7″ sells for. For the uninitiated, this is the absolute top Canadian punk rarity, with only 200 pressed and 50 of those copies being left on a bus in Vancouver by a friend of the band. Check out the tunes here.

My prediction on this one is that it could go for more than the rest of the seller’s listings combined. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

And for those with more refined tastes in $10,000+ vinyl, here’s a nice buy-it-now on an original God Save The Queen on A&M. Crazy to see both of these up at the same time.

I can’t remember if Jeff Nelson has ever sold one of these, but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it on ebay before. A friend of mine scored one out of a collection a couple years ago, the seller thought it was a xeroxed sleeve and my friend did too… ’till he showed it to me and I clued him in :( . At any rate, this is probably 2nd from the top in terms of Dischord collectibles behind the Out Of Step sheep cover test, so maybe that opening bid isn’t looking too bad after all. Also, I love records where you don’t even have to say the band’s name or record title for people to know what you’re talking about… “Cousins sleeve”, “Skate park sleeve”, etc etc.

Haterz be damned, this is a great record. Sure you can find copies in the dollar bin of every record store in America, but why settle for a cheap repress when you can own the original Leathur Records pressing? And sealed no less! The funny thing with this record is Vince Neal’s hair was too big on the back cover so on the second press they made it smaller. Honestly I think the band photos look exactly like GISM, so I wonder who was aping who?

There’s been some recent debate over whether or not Koro’s debut ep from 1983 is actually as good as the record makes it out to be… ie, there are some people out there (myself included) who think the recording sounds a little sped up, maybe on purpose by the band or maybe by mistake during the recording/mastering or record cutting. Who knows? Either way this is still a pretty ripping example of off-the-radar American hardcore, and is also one of the rarest, with somewhere between 300 and 500 pressed and, if legend stands correct, a large chunk of them were taken by Jello Biafra after a Dead Kennedys gig in Tennessee to be distributed in California, only to disappear into the void.

So What are a pretty well-known hardcore band from Shizuoka, Japan that released quite a few records, appeared on several compilations, and, as far as I know, are still active to this day (or have at least played recent reunion shows). So what’s weird about this record, considering it came out in 1986, is that no one had ever heard of it until about 5 years ago, when a copy turned up on ebay (contraty to the seller’s claim that this is the first time it’s been offered on ebay). All of the Japanese and international hardcore experts were interviewed on the matter, and no one had ever heard of it, let alone heard it. A Japanese buyer ended up winning the original copy, which should tell you something about its rarity, and then soon enough there were mp3′s floating around online and everyone was looking for a copy. Pretty ripping, noisy hardcore in the vein of early Japacore greats like Kuro and GISM — check it out here. Dig that insane insert photo!

So how did this one slip under everyone’s radar for so long? No one really knows, but all I can say is there can’t be too many pressed. It’s kind of like if a Jerry’s Kids 7″ from 1983 suddenly showed up out of the blue that no one had ever seen before.

As mentioned in the auction, has anyone ever actually seen a test press of Pay To Cum? It’s possible they weren’t made, and these reference acetates were used instead, which would indeed make this the crown jewel of your Bad Brains collection. I remember one of these being sold back in the early days of ebay (early 2000′s or so) and it went for a fraction of the price of a current Pay To Cum with sleeve, so it’s possible that there is more than one out there, unless this one came full circle and is the same copy. But based on lineage/provenance mention in the auction description, I don’t think it’s the same copy. So at most, there could be two copies out there, but I doubt you’re ever going to see one again, so if your cheddar is stacked high enough you might want to drop a serious bid here.

Again like the Necros 7″, it’s pretty wild that this is the THIRD copy of this record on ebay this year. I think prior to 2010, there were 3 copies listed over the past 5 years, if that. 200 pressed, and possibly the greatest American hardcore 7″ ever made, so expect this one to hit the $3 grand mark with ease.