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What is the rarest record you own? Mine is some 1921 Columbia test pressing.

I think I'll chime in before anyone else would professorally reprimand you for having chosen a thread title that tells nothing about the contents of the thread itself, and also that "rare" per se doesn't imply desired / sought after - the rarest record in the word, perhaps the only surviving copy, is rubbish if it contains music that nobody wants to listen to.

In my case it is easy to answer: it is a recording of the voice of Grand Admiral and Duke of the Sea Paolo Thaon di Revel. The record is part of a collection named Le Voci della Vittoria (the voices of Victory) recorded by an enthusiast fellow of Fonotipia (but later issued under the Discoteca di Stato label) right after WWI.

At the same time - in reference to your previous thread - this is also the single record that I paid the most in my collection, as the seller perfectly knew what he was selling.

Possibly this one. I have been contacted by Jewish record collectors worldwide wishing to purchase it, but it is not for sale and anyway I would have no idea what to ask for it. Where would I find another?
It made the front cover of the CLPGS magazine (Issue 30) and has been reproduced on several record label websites.
More details about the record can be found at www.early78s.uk, a resource which I contribute to and recommend.

Orchorsol wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 6:16 am Illustrating Marco's point, here's one example of many obscure and probably unique records in my collection (in this case a pair of discs) that almost nobody wants to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEl5gNcjMWY

Well, not really... Should those fall in the hands of Techmoan, he would do a 45 mins episode about the announcements!

In this side-race, however, I'm in with the unique Pyral acetates of that famous wedding in Torino, that even the relatives of the newlyweds didn't want to listen to, and - as a matter of fact - trashed. Poor souls.

For the adjective rare to apply, in my view it needs to be associated with commercial releases. Test pressings or private recordings are not rare, but rather unique, in the sense that only one copy of each was produced. Some people cherish as rarities typos in record labels, or different takes issued in commercial records. As we move back in time, the rarer the commercially issued records become. I have hundreds of obscure tunes issued by obscure labels starting from the early 1900s, and some of them could well be unique today, all other copies having been trashed over the years.

This is what comes to mind right now: the back side of one advertising record from the mid forties I have, which has a very strong sustained note recorded at an enormous volume, probably at 100 Hz or so, incredibly ear spitting, tremendous. I've used it at various speeds to try to discover horn resonances in my gramophones. But it is difficult to resist!

For the win.
I will be creating a topic specific to this record in the near future.

It must be the Garibaldi Hymn sung by Enrico Caruso, Victor Red Seal 87297. According to an eBay seller who is asking $199 for the HMV equivalent issue, it's not just rare, it's MEGA rare! And it's recorded on only one side! Wow!

In support of its rarity, my copy is only the second I've owned, and I see no more than five others on eBay at the moment.

OK, enough snark. I've mentioned this before, but, please, please don't get hung up on what's "rare" and what's "valuable." In general, nobody gets rich buying and selling phonograph records--not dealers, certainly not collectors. Enjoy them for the music or for the satisfaction of assembling a well-designed collection for your own pleasure. Furthermore, I think one of my collector friends has nailed it with the observation that more often than not there's a reason common records are common, and there's also a reason uncommon records aren't. I'll add that today's "fabulous rarity" may well turn out to be tomorrow's "oh, that again." I can remember a time when Caruso's record of "Over There" was supposed to be at least uncommon if not a holy grail, and even Edison's "Let Us Not Forget" turns up a lot more nowadays than people used to think it ever would.

I agree with Marco: one "what's the rarest/most valuable record you own" type thread was enough, or more than enough.

bearcat wrote: Tue Jan 16, 2024 2:17 pm For the win.
I will be creating a topic specific to this record in the near future.

Have you listened to this recording yet?