Ringo Starr‘s copy of The Beatles‘ self-titled 1968 album has been confirmed to be the most expensive vinyl record ever sold.
The first-ever pressed copy of the record was sold at auction last December for $790,000 (£522,438). Previous reports suggested that it had sold for $910,000 (£600,000), but Guinness World Records have now corrected this.
More commonly known as ‘The White Album’, each unit of the record came with its own serial number stamped on the cover.
The No. 0000001 album was sold by Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. Proceeds from the sale went to the Lotus Foundation, which was founded by Starr and his wife, Barbara Bach.
Guinness World Records say that the record-breaking copy was stored in a vault by Starr for 35 years and was sold in near mint condition.
GettyThe first numbered copy of the LP was rumoured to be John Lennon’s who, according to Paul McCartney, “shouted the loudest” for it when the band decided to have the copies numbered.
The first four pressings of the album were all in possession of The Beatles, while copy No. 0000005 sold at an auction in 2008 for a little less than $30,000 (£20,000).