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Controversy vinyl value

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.

Prince — Controversy: pressings we track

PressingCatalogCountryNotes
1981 Warner Bros.BSK 3601USSpecialty Pressing, Allied Plating
1981 Warner Bros.BSK 3601USReissue, Jacksonville Pressing
1981 Warner Bros.BSK 3601USSpecialty Pressing
1981 Warner Bros.BSK 3601USAllied Pressing
1981 Warner Bros.BSK 3601USSpecialty Records Corporation Pressing
2011 Warner Bros.8122-79777-6EuropeLimited Edition, Reissue, Remastered
2011 RhinoR1 3601USReissue, Remastered, 180 gram
2020 WarnerR1 3601EuropeReissue, 180g
2022 NPG19439863711USReissue, 150 gram
Undated Warner Bros.WB K 56 950EuropeReissue

10 pressings tracked · catalog of 974,753 releases, August 2026

What separates the pressings

Originals, 1981One first-year pressing: Warner Bros., US. Runout on the US copy starts “BSK-1-3601-(RE-1)-S2 + SP. SLM + △ 9̶6̶4̶-̶X̶ ̶ 952 0-1 SM3-1”.
Collector variants2011 Europe: Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered. Pressed in small numbers, and priced accordingly.
Reissues, 2011+3 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 1981 US pressing it reads “BSK-1-3601-(RE-1)-S2 + SP. SLM + △ 9̶6̶4̶-̶X̶ ̶ 952 0-1 SM3-1” on side one and “BSK-2-3601-S2 + SP. SLM + △ 952-X 0-1 SM2-2” on side two. Sleeves migrate between copies over the years; the etching stays with the record.

  3. 3

    Grade the condition. Condition multiplies the price: near mint can bring several times what a VG copy does. Vinyl and sleeve get separate grades; the scale is in our grading guide.

Discs and jackets part ways over the decades: a 1981 sleeve proves nothing about the record inside it. The runout etching and the label decide the pressing; the cover never does.

Questions

Which pressing of Controversy is worth the most?

The 1981 originals lead. Scarcer variants (the 2011 “Limited Edition, Reissue, Remastered”) 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 if I have a 1981 original?

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 1981 US pressing the runout reads “BSK-1-3601-(RE-1)-S2 + SP. SLM + △ 9̶6̶4̶-̶X̶ ̶ 952 0-1 SM3-1”. A period jacket with a later disc inside is still a reissue.

How much is Controversy 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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