Why Bob Dylan can still help you 'Freewheel' to profit after 48 years

 

 

Collectors who Don't Look Back, turn away now... It was today in 1963 that folk legend Bob Dylan's second LP, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, was first released.

It has since been place at the top of Goldmine Album Guide's list of the "100 Most Valuable US Albums." But what is it about the LP that makes it so valued among collectors?

Well, aside from the obvious reasons - like Dylan's confirmed status as perhaps the most important musical artist of the 20th century - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan's value is down to its considerable rarity.

 


Bob Dylan's artistic decision made early copies of his 2nd LP very rare ... and highly collectible on today's markets


Two slightly different formats of the LP have each sold for five figure sums in the past. Both of these were scrapped after very limited factory productions, when Dylan made last-minute changes to the LP's track listing for "artistic reasons."

Straightaway, those original pre-change albums became 'instant collectibles' with some examples somehow later finding their way onto the private markets.

The two different formats are mono and stereo, with the former currently valued at £13,600 ($21,000) and the latter deemed more expensive at £23,000 ($35,000).

So, you've tracked down and bought your own copy of the 'original' Freewheelin' Bob Dylan LP. It's rare, a part of Dylan's history... but you're $35,000 out of pocket. So what then?


 

Well, even if your Freewheelin' LP isn't autographed by the man himself, its rarity (or, rather, finite supply) and its importance in Bob's perennial legacy means that these LPs will likely always be sought-after by collectors.

Consequently, prices for the very rare Freewheelin' LPs should continue to go up. Indeed, signed Bob Dylan photographs have grown in value by 117.9% in the last 10 years.

Whether an unsigned Freewheelin' Bob Dylan LP would offer the same appreciation is open to debate...

Nevertheless, there remains a significant buzz and excitement around the record among devoted collectors, which should ensure that their value continues to grow in coming decades.

 

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