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How can I tell if I have a “First Pressing” of an album? And does it matter?

So I have a Michael Jackson signed Thriller album cover that was signed in late-1982 or early-1983. MJ signed the album fairly close to the time of its initial release at a Tower Records store in West Hollywood. If it were a First Pressing, would it make the autograph more valuable just like having a signed First Edition of a book usually makes the book more valuable?

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on June 27, 2018 at 11:57pm

That's a great question. As a big time music collector, I think the answer is....only to a small degree. Now, the older the band/artist, the more that changes. For example, it would be worth more to have a first pressing Beatles album signed by them, as oppose to getting the autographs at a later date on a later pressing of the record.

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Permalink Reply by Patrick1977 on June 28, 2018 at 12:12am

I think it depends on how looked after such a record is. In case of a Beatles, Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd record I guess it would be a big difference as there are also collectors who search such first pressings. If it comes to Jackson I don't think there are many people out there looking for first pressings so it is only a nice plus added to the value of the autograph.