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

• Cover: The original LP's front and back covers carry no text at all (no album title, no band name), and there is no catalog number on the spine either — the album's most famous 'untitled' identifying feature.
• Inner sleeve: Each of the four band members chose a personal hand-drawn symbol, printed individually on the inner sleeve and on the record label.
• Inner sleeve: The gatefold's inner artwork, 'The Hermit', was painted by Barrington Coleby (credited on the sleeve as Barrington Colby MOM), influenced by the design of the tarot card of the same name from the Rider–Waite deck.
• Inner sleeve: The inner sleeve prints the lyrics to 'Stairway to Heaven', with the typeface personally chosen by Jimmy Page.

• The album was reissued multiple times through the 1970s, including a lilac-coloured vinyl edition released in 1978 and a box-set edition in 1988 — special-material editions like coloured vinyl can be used to identify later special releases.

• 1978 lilac-coloured vinyl edition: A lilac-coloured vinyl edition was released in 1978, distinct from the original black vinyl; it is an official special-material reissue rather than a regular first pressing.

The catalog number 'K50008' that appears on Wikipedia seems to be a UK Atlantic catalog number, but it only appears in an image-caption-style citation, and it could not be confirmed that it is genuinely the official catalog number, so it was not used and is instead listed as unverified.

• 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.

RareVinyl.com's listings (read 25 September 2026) set out three early UK label states, all plum and red:

• First issue: the band name and an "Executive Producer: Peter Grant" credit at the bottom of the label, no "Superhype" publishing credit, and a flipback lyric inner. The dealer's first-issue listings carry catalogue number 2401012, and later UK issues K50008.
• Second issue: the upside-down feather symbol misprinted on the first issue is corrected on side two.
• Third issue: two stickers move the band name to the top of the label and cover the Peter Grant credit, which the dealer says Jimmy Page had not approved, and add the missing "Superhype" credit.

The US first issue (Atlantic SD 7208) is on the green and dark orange Atlantic label with a printed lyric inner sleeve.

RareVinyl.com list prices, 25 September 2026: UK first issue US$248 (Good); second issue US$233 to US$318; third issue US$444 to US$1,263; US first issue US$73 to US$173. The third issue outprices a worn first issue, so check condition before assuming the first is worth the most. More on our Led Zeppelin vinyl value page.