Expert: sarah - 12/14/2010

Question
I purchased a Beatles Meet The Beatles album from ebay recently for a christmas present for my nephew that is a big Beatles fan.  I did not spend much, just wanted to get him an older album so he can start a collection.  I got curious as to whether it actually had any value or if it was a common release.  I haven't been able to find any info on this particular album with it's specific markings.  Maybe I just don't know what to look for!  :-)

Here are the details to the best of my descriptive abilities:

Front of the album sleeve says in tiny print on right side "File Under: The Beatles-Pop Rock, Vocal Group" then "ST 2047" on far right side.  At top of the album under that is "Capitol Full Dimensional" then "STEREO".  Next is the album title "MEET THE BEATLES!" - the "MEET THE" is a blue/aqua color and "BEATLES!" is tan/brown.  Under that is "The First Album by England's Phenomenal Pop Combo".

There is an oval "Capitol RECORDS" on the right side under the album title, with "HIGH FIDELITY" below that.  I read on one site about something about an RIAA award possibly being below that, but mine doesn't have that.

Ok, on to the back - "ST 2047" in upper right, and then a circle with "FDS" and "FULL DIMENSIONAL STEREO" and under that "ALSO AVAILABLE IN REGULAR MONOPHONIC"

Then the heading on the back is "You've read about them in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times.  Here's the big beat sound of that fantastic, phenomenal foursome:" followed by larger letters "MEET THE BEATLES"

Then it lists the tracks (no BMI or ASCAP credits on album cover) and their pictures and a story.  At the bottom of the back of the album cover is "Cover Photo/Robert Freeman" and below that "THIS STEREO RECORD SHOULD BE PLAYED ONLY WITH A STEREO CARTRIDGE AND NEEDLE TO AVOID DAMAGE" and below that "MADE IN U.S.A. - FACTORIES: SCRANTON, PA. - LOS ANGELES, CALIF."

On very bottom right corner is a circle with RIAA and to the very right of that is a tiny "6".

Album itself - has a rainbow band, Capitol RECORDS in an oval, then Meet the BEATLES! (Recorded in England)  It says "STEREO" and "ST-2047 (ST-X-1-2047)"

Side 1 credits BMI on songs 1 I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND and song 2 I SAW HER STANDING THERE.  Other 4 songs are credited to ASCAP.  All songs list John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

Side 2 credits ASCAP to all songs except song 5 I WANNA BE YOUR MAN.  All songs list John Lennon and Paul McCartney, except 1 DON'T BOTHER ME is George Harrison, and 3 TILL THERE WAS YOU is Meredith Willson.

There's also a blue insert that the album itself was in that has what I'd call advertisements for other albums.

I think that's about it.  I know it is hard to "value" an album, but any thoughts/info you have would be great.  I am mostly just curious if this is a rare or semi-rare album, or if it is a very common release.  The record itself is in pretty good condition, it's been used and has minor scratches but mostly in pretty good condition.  The album cover is in pretty good condition, but again it shows some wear and a couple splits.

Thank you soooo much, in advance, for even taking the time to read my question.  It is much appreciated by someone who knows very very little about albums!

Thanks!
Michelle

Answer
Dear Michelle,

sorry for the delay but I needed to make a fully research on it, I am happy to say that your Album appears to be a Third Label variation, which is quite rare. The value can be about "400 $" which is great. Obviously the price can be different if the record has been played several times or not.
However please take a look at this website, you can find more info on it: http://www.fab4collectibles.com/capitol_lp_albums.htm