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Master Of Reality vinyl value

Master Of Reality — Black Sabbath album cover
Prices for this album are still being collected: our eBay tracker quotes a pressing only after at least three live listings match it. The pressings and identification below are complete.

Black Sabbath — Master Of Reality: pressings we track

PressingCatalogCountryNotes
1985 Castle CommunicationsCLALP 198GermanyReissue
1985 NEMSNEL 6004GermanyReissue
1985 Castle CommunicationsNEL 6004UKReissue
1987 JugodiskLPS-1115YugoslaviaReissue
1989 Vertigo832 707-1NetherlandsReissue
1993 SNCME 2051RussiaReissue
2001 SanctuaryCMHLP178UKLimited Edition, Reissue, 180 Gram
2003 Earmark41001 PItalyLimited Edition, Picture Disc, Reissue
2003 Earmark41001CItalyLimited Edition, Reissue, Remastered
2003 Earmark41001ItalyReissue, 180 gram
2005 Earmark41001ItalyReissue, Remastered, 180 g
2005 Earmark641001ItalyReissue, Clear, 180 Gram
2005 EarmarkDMM41001ItalyReissue, Remastered, 180 g
2009 Vertigo2701103EuropeReissue
2010 Rhino VinylR1 2562USReissue, 180 Gram
2015 BMGBMGRM055LPEuropeReissue

39 pressings tracked, 16 shown · catalog of 974,753 releases, August 2026

What separates the pressings

Oldest we track, 1985First released 1971; our table starts at 1985 (Castle Communications, UK). A copy older than 1985 predates everything here. Treat it as the find.
Collector variants2001 UK: Limited Edition, Reissue, 180 Gram; 2003 Italy: Limited Edition, Picture Disc, Reissue; 2003 Italy: Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered. Scarce on purpose; collectors pay for that.
Reissues, 1993+7 pressings. Easy to find, priced as listening copies.

How to identify your copy

Three checks, in the order worth doing them.

  1. 1

    Match the catalog number. It is printed on the spine and the record label. Check it together with the country against the pressings table above: the same number can appear in more than one country.

  2. 2

    Read the runout. The code etched in the dead wax near the label names the exact pressing. On the 1985 UK pressing it reads “DM B-3291 A-1/85 S II” on side one and “DM B-3291 B-1/85 S II II” on side two. Trust the etching over the jacket: covers get traded around, dead wax stays put.

  3. 3

    Grade the condition. A clean copy and a worn one of the same pressing sit several grades, and several multiples, apart. Grade record and sleeve separately; see our grading guide.

Do not price the cover. A later disc in a 1971 jacket is a reissue, whatever the sleeve says: the pressing lives in the runout etching and on the label.

Questions

Which pressing of Master Of Reality is worth the most?

Original 1971 pressings lead; they predate everything in our table, and that scarcity is the point. Among tracked copies, the 1985 pressings come first. Scarcer variants (the 2001 “Limited Edition, Reissue, 180 Gram” and the 2003 “Limited Edition, Picture Disc, Reissue”) can beat an ordinary early copy. After that it is all condition: the gap between near mint and VG is usually larger than the gap between pressings.

How do I tell which pressing I have?

Match the catalog number on the spine and label against the table above, check the country, then read the etched code in the runout groove. On the 1985 UK pressing the runout reads “DM B-3291 A-1/85 S II”. A period jacket with a later disc inside is still a reissue.

How much is Master Of Reality worth today?

Market prices move, so a static number goes stale fast. Scan the record in the RecordScout app: it identifies your exact pressing from the label and shows a current value range for its condition.

Not sure which pressing you have? Photograph the label and RecordScout names it, then shows a current value range for its condition.

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