Led Zeppelin — Led Zeppelin II: How to Identify a First Pressing

• Cover: The cover designer, David Juniper, reworked a group photograph of a WWI German fighter squadron (Jagdstaffel 11, the 'Red Baron's' squadron), replacing several of the pilots' heads with photos of the band members.
• Cover: The designer replaced some of the pilots' heads with photos of the band members, and added a moustache, sunglasses, or swapped in other faces for some of the remaining figures.
• Cover: The brown background of the cover has a silhouette of an airship printed on it (echoing the first album's cover), which is why the album earned the nickname 'Brown Bomber'.
• Other: Released by Atlantic Records on October 22, 1969.

• The bonus disc in the 2014 reissue box set uses a colour-shifted version of the original cover art, with different colours from the original — a clue for identifying 2014 reissue bonus material rather than the original vinyl itself.

Details often mentioned in collecting circles, such as the 'RL/RS' 'hot stamper' matrix codes, could not be verified because Discogs and 45cat were inaccessible, and so were not included.

• Read the runout (the smooth area between the last groove and the label) with the disc tilted under a lamp: matrix numbers, stamper codes and mastering initials are the strongest evidence.
• Label details change between pressing plants and years: rim text, logo style, address, "Manufactured by" wording.
• Cover printing shows the plant and era: printer credit, catalog number position, barcode presence.
• Match all three. A first-press disc in a later cover, or the reverse, is common.

Shoot the label straight on in even light, then the runout with the disc tilted so the etched text catches the light (a phone torch from the side works). Add the front and back cover, the spine, and any inner sleeve or insert. The app reads the label and cover; the runout photo is what confirms the pressing.

Wikipedia gives the UK release date as 31 October 1969 and notes that track 2 was titled "Livin' Lovin' Wreck (She's a Woman)" on earlier UK LPs.

RareVinyl.com (read 25 September 2026) describes the UK first issue as a plum and red Atlantic label in a pale brown gatefold sleeve, with the "Livin' Lovin' Wreck" misprint on side two, which it says was corrected almost immediately.

The two sources disagree on track 3. Wikipedia says earlier UK LPs title it "Killing Floor"; RareVinyl.com says the first release lists "The Lemon Song" and later issues "Killing Floor". Use the side-two misprint, the label colour and the runout to date a copy, not the track-3 title.

RareVinyl.com list prices, 25 September 2026: UK first issue US$322 (Good), US$1,444 (VG), US$2,170 (Excellent); second issue US$233 to US$465; sixth to ninth UK issues US$28 to US$65; a factory-sealed 1969 US copy (SD8236) with the "Whole Lotta Love" hype sticker US$3,705. More on our Led Zeppelin vinyl value page.